Wednesday, February 12, 2025

WPD arrests 18-year-old for involvement in downtown shooting

Courtesy photo

WILMINGTON — The Wilmington Police Department arrested a man at an apartment complex on Randall Parkway Tuesday in relation to a downtown shooting that occurred recently.

READ MORE: ‘It was chaos’: Downtown shooting leaves one injured, others hiding for safety

ALSO: Sunday’s downtown shooting was mobile, gang-related

According to a release from the Wilmington Police Department, 18-year-old Tristian Allen is being charged with one count each of:

  • Attempted first degree murder
  • Assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill
  • Felony carrying a concealed weapon
  • Going armed to the terror of the public

WPD spokesperson Greg Willett told Port City Daily last week the incident was gang-related. The police department noted in Wednesday’s release Allen is a validated gang member.

Around 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, multiple rounds of gunfire were reported in the Second and Princess streets area.

“Allen’s charges are stemming from an incident in which he attempted to shoot another individual in downtown Wilmington,” WPD said in a release. “As a result, a short time later, several shots were fired near the 00 block of Princess Street, which led to a large response from law enforcement.”

Police on the scene consisted of WPD and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, who located one individual injured on Princess Street. He was transported to Novant NHRMC and recovered.

According to Willet and previous PCD reporting, part of the incident appeared to mobile as bullet holes were found at the community arts center at the corner of Second and Orange streets, a few blocks south. They were processed as part of the investigation.

911 calls from the incident indicate one woman’s car was struck by bullets. A caller who helped the distressed lady but didn’t know her said her car was parked “by the library.”

“Her back window is shot and the driver’s side of the window is shot,” he told the dispatcher, but clarified no one was injured.

A lady in the background can be heard screaming, “he was driving through,” but a description of a suspect or weapon couldn’t be described.

Another caller from the sixth level of a parking garage downtown described “a bunch of people were shooting.” Through tears, she told the dispatcher no one was in the garage and she wasn’t hurt; she was with a group of people hiding in the elevator.

“I’m so scared,” she repeated multiple times. “I can’t die like this.”

“Ma’am do you hear sirens?” the dispatcher asked, to which the woman verified.

“They’re there to help,” the 911 caller said. “Stay where you are.”

Another group of callers were hiding in a bathroom near 106 Second St. and said they heard six or seven shots, while a caller driving away from downtown said she heard at least 20. She noted commotion first started on Front Street, but as she was leaving she heard gunfire at the intersection of Princess and Second streets.

WPD worked with partner agencies on the local, state and federal levels during the investigation, according to the release. More arrests are expected from the incident.

“This individual and others are associated with the gang lifestyle, they are brazen and reckless criminals,” Chief Donny Williams stated in the release, adding their capture is a top priority for WPD. “These aggressive and violent offenders deserve to be put behind bars … These offenders often attack other offenders regardless of their geographic location. These crimes have the possibility of occurring anywhere within our city or surrounding county when rival gang members encounter one another.”

Allen is being held at the NHCSO Detention Center under a $500,000 secured bond. The investigation remains ongoing.


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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