As the Clinton Police Department continues its probe into a fatal shooting at Dogwood Circle, the police chief is urging anyone with information to come forward with it. A cell phone video has surfaced that shows the moments before shots rang out on Sunday evening, but the chief said many of those in the video have yet to speak with authorities.

Clinton Police detectives, along with N.C. State Bureau of Investigation agents continue to investigate the shooting, which claimed the life of Carlos Rivera, 19, of Ruby Lane, Clinton, and hospitalized his mother, Malian Rivera, 41, who has been upgraded from critical to stable condition as she recovers from a gunshot wound to the chest.

“I don’t want to speculate on charges until we have all the facts,” said Clinton Police Chief Donald Edwards.

Family members of Carlos Rivera told ABC11 they were set up by the other parties involved, saying nobody was arguing with the other assailants and Rivera did not shoot first.

Brenda Astor Marrero told the news station she and 25-year-old Kiara Torres agreed to fight outside of a neutral neighbor’s yard and Carlos was recording it. During the altercation, a woman in a black shirt, who they say was Anny Alvarado, 29, walked past the two women and approached Carlos’s pregnant sister.

Alvarado was identified by police as a resident of Dogwood Circle and a friend of Torres, who police said had been in a relationship with Carlos.

Marrero and other family members told ABC11 that Alvarado and Carlos’s sister had a long history of disliking each other. When Carlos noticed the interaction, he dropped the phone and confronted Alvarado, physically thwarting her from getting to his sister, family members said.

That’s when they said Alvarado fired the first shots before Carlos returned fire, leading to the exchange that saw both Alvarado and her boyfriend, Miguel Alamo, 34, of Hobbton Highway, fire at Carlos.

According to initial police reports, Alamo attempted to stop Carlos from assaulting his girlfriend when Carlos pulled a handgun and fired at Alamo, striking him in the arm with one shot. Alamo then pulled a handgun and fired back at Carlos, at which point Alvarado, hearing the shots after being knocked to the ground, got to her feet, pulled her own handgun and fired at Carlos too, police said Monday.

During the incident, Malian Rivera approached Alvarado and was shot in the chest, initial reports indicate.

Edwards said his department is looking for everyone involved to give their account.

“As we said before, this is an ongoing investigation,” said Edwards, who noted he had seen some of a video clip that had been circulating, but noted that detectives had not yet been able to interview some of the primary subjects who spoke to ABC11. “We would encourage those people who have information or video evidence to please come forward with it so we do have all the facts and all information available.”

Local authorities responded just before 6:30 p.m. Sunday to the call of shots fired at Dogwood Circle. While en route, officers observed a vehicle “leaving the area at a high rate of speed and driving reckless,” police reports state.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle and were able to follow it as it traveled to Sampson Regional Medical Center. It was discovered that at least three individuals had been driven to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

Carlos Rivera was pronounced dead at Sampson Regional from his wounds. Malian Rivera was airlifted from Sampson Regional to an undisclosed area hospital, where she was listed in critical condition on Monday before being upgraded. Alamo was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Edwards said all the handguns used in the incident were recovered.

Detectives are still investigating the shooting and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Clinton Police Department at 910-592-3105. Anonymous tips through can also be sent through the department’s tipline at 910-590-3009, by texting to 847411, starting each tip with “tipcpd,” or through the tipcpd app.

Edwards
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Donald-Edwards-mug.jpgEdwards

Dogwood Circle in Clinton was the site of a deadly shooting Sunday, in which a verbal altercation erupted in an exchange of gunfire between three different people. Three were shot, a teenager sustaining fatal wounds.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Dogwood-murder.jpgDogwood Circle in Clinton was the site of a deadly shooting Sunday, in which a verbal altercation erupted in an exchange of gunfire between three different people. Three were shot, a teenager sustaining fatal wounds. File photo|Sampson Independent
No speculation on charges ‘until all facts’ in

By Chris Berendt

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Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.