On the evening of July 31, 2023, gunfire shattered a Willow Spring neighborhood on the 7500 block of Panther Lake Road. Two adult men were found with life-threatening injuries; 30-year-old Cody Armstrong was taken to the hospital and died shortly after arrival. The second victim survived and was later released from the hospital.

Within hours investigators identified and arrested a Willow Spring resident, 66-year-old Lawrence Paul Menegay, who was charged with murder in Armstrong’s death. Menegay was later also charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill after the other victim recovered. He was reported held in the Wake County Detention Center without bond. Authorities did not publicly explain what sparked the shooting or how Armstrong and the accused knew one another.

If anyone has information about the events on Panther Lake Road that night or knew Cody Armstrong, please come forward to assist the ongoing inquiry.