A neighbor of North Carolina’s Bonnie and Clyde was shocked to learn the pair had gunned down two relatives and wounded two children, saying the family seemed like “very nice people.”
Law enforcement is scrambling to piece together a motive after Camryn Moore, 26, and Cory Armstrong, 29, allegedly killed two of Moore’s kin in a Gastonia home they all lived in on Thursday — before shooting themselves after a high-speed police chase through southern Ohio Friday.
“I just kept saying, ‘My God. Oh God.’ coming down the stairs,” neighbor Loretta Forbes told WSOC when she learned of the tragedy.
“They seem to be very nice people. It just shakes you up to think that could happen so close by.”
Forbes was left searching for answers after Gaston County police officers responded to 2661 Forbes Road around 8:43 a.m. Thursday after receiving reports of gunfire inside the suburban residence, where six people, including Moore and Armstrong, lived.
“I want to know what happened. I want to know about the family,” Forbes said, adding that she is praying for the family.
Brianna Crouse, another Gastonia resident, expressed disbelief over the violent rampage.
“It’s absolutely nuts. I just can’t believe it,” Crouse told the outlet.
“I can’t believe it. Nothing bad has ever happened on this road as long as I’ve lived here.”
The “tight-knit” suburban community — located just a few miles from the South Carolina border — is unaccustomed to violent crime, according to resident Robert Cline.
“There really ain’t no trouble down here in south Gastonia,” Cline said.
“We’re pretty tight-knit; people know each other.”
Dispatch audio captured officers piecing together the chaotic scene while responding to 911 calls Thursday.
“We’re going to need multiple ambulances, multiple ambulances,” an officer requested over dispatch, according to FOX 8. “We’ve got several subjects.”
“They’re saying that the niece and the boyfriend are shooting at each other,” which refers to Camryn and Cory.
“Call taker is advising they believe the nephew may be upstairs, was asleep and was shot,” an officer reported, according to FOX 8.
Victoria “Heather” Moore, 50, and Josiah Bumgardner, 38 — Camryn Moore’s mother and uncle — were found dead, according to police. Josiah had previously transitioned from a female, Megan, and had been identifying as male, according to the family.
Two children, one of whom is Heather’s son, Keaton, and another girl, Autumn, were shot and rushed to CaroMont Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and remained in critical but stable condition, according to a GoFundMe.
Adam Baker, who lives two blocks away, said seeing the massive police presence unnerved him.
“It’s incredibly unusual. I mean it’s a very quiet neighborhood,” Baker said.
It remains unclear what sparked the pair’s alleged bloody rampage.
Following the shootings, Moore and Armstrong took off before authorities tracked them across state lines to Ohio, where they died of gunshot wounds following an intense pursuit.
North Carolina authorities told The Post that both Moore and Armstrong’s deaths are being probed as a possible double-suicide, although the Ohio Highway Patrol declined to confirm that.
Read the full article here
