On the evening of August 26, 2023, at about 9:30 p.m., Fayetteville police responded to reports of a shooting in the 100 block of Bonanza Drive and found two men with gunshot wounds in an open field. Twenty-four-year-old Ernest Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene; the other man was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition.

Investigators say the incident began with a disturbance in the 6000 block of Morganton Road, where shots were fired into a vehicle carrying Bullock and his companion. Both men left the vehicle and fled across an open field before collapsing where officers located them. Surveillance footage tied a Kia SUV to the scene; the vehicle was seen leaving the Red Roof Inn on Owen Drive and arriving at the shooting location, then fleeing afterward.

On September 22, 2023, authorities arrested 22-year-old Jordan Bernal, 28-year-old Justin Shumpert, and 24-year-old Montez Lofton and charged all three with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a weapon into occupied property, and felony conspiracy. The suspects were held without bail. Anyone with information about Ernest Bullock or the shooting is asked to come forward.