A 19-year-old North Carolina woman was gunned down outside the Wilson County Courthouse on Monday in what authorities have described as a brazen act of retaliation linked to the murder of her brother’s alleged victim, a 16-year-old boy killed just three weeks earlier. Latoya Andrea Lucas was shot multiple times in the chest as she walked toward the courthouse for a scheduled 11:30 a. m
court appearance, collapsing on the steps as her sister fainted nearby. The shooting sent pedestrians screaming for cover, shut down the courthouse complex, and left two law enforcement officers injured before the suspect was apprehended in a nearby parking lot.
The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Abdul Mufasa, was captured after a short foot chase during which he discarded his black hoodie in a trash can and fired at responding officers, striking a deputy and a police officer. Both officers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover. Mufasa was taken into custody in the courthouse parking lot and now faces multiple charges, including attempted murder and assault on law enforcement
Court records show he is being held without bond, and a judge has barred him from contacting the victim or any witnesses.
But the shooting did not happen in isolation. Authorities say Mufasa did not act alone. Surveillance footage reviewed by the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office shows three men arriving at the courthouse together earlier that morning.
According to investigators, Mufasa hid a backpack in an alley near the building before entering with the two other suspects, identified as 18-year-old Galexis Apawit and 28-year-old Tyreek Coington. Once inside, all three changed their clothing in a ground-floor restroom in an apparent attempt to avoid detection. Apawit and Coington then entered the district courtroom to confirm that Lucas was present, while Mufasa left the building and waited for more than an hour on a bench outside, armed and watching the entrance
When Lucas arrived with her sister, Mufasa stood up, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and fired at least six rounds, striking her in the chest. Witnesses reported hearing the shots and seeing Lucas fall. “Oh, that’s Toya.
He shot her in the titty,” one bystander is heard exclaiming in chaotic cellphone video obtained by local media. The victim’s sister, who had accompanied her to court, fainted upon seeing the attack and was later treated for shock.
The violence, according to the sheriff’s office, was directly motivated by the murder of 16-year-old Learius “DBaby” Simmons, who was shot and killed on June 23 inside a home on Spruce Street in Wilson. That home, authorities confirmed, was the same residence where Latoya Lucas lived with her two young children. Learius was a rising sophomore at Fike High School, a drummer at his church, and described by loved ones as a joyful, funny teenager with a good heart.
His mother, Kimberly Simmons, told reporters through tears that she will miss his laugh and his kindness.
But the investigation into Learius’s death quickly uncovered that his alleged killer, 18-year-old Jamal Hines, was Latoya Lucas’s brother. Hines was 17 at the time of the shooting and has since been charged with murder. According to court documents, Latoya Lucas and her sister Valentina were arrested on June 29 and charged with felony accessory after the fact to murder and felony obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors allege that Lucas provided false statements to police in an effort to help her brother evade detection. Her sister faces a single count of obstruction. Those charges were the reason Latoya Lucas was due in court Monday.
“Well, I want justice the legal way,” Kimberly Simmons told CBS 17 the day after the courthouse shooting. “All this other stuff that’s going on out there, I know my son wouldn’t like that. And I don’t like that neither.
I don’t want nobody to get hurt. No, none of that. Just let my son sleep in peace and let his justice be served by the law.
That’s it. That’s all I want.” Simmons said she does not know the suspected shooter, Abdul Mufasa, but that online posts indicate he was a friend of her son.
She expressed fear for her own safety, adding that she would have advised Mufasa to turn to prayer and family instead of revenge.
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office has described the attack as not only retaliatory but potentially gang-related. In court filings, investigators said the three suspects may be associated with what they called a “hybrid gang,” though they did not provide further detail. The area where Learius was killed, the sheriff’s office noted, has known ties to the Bloods street gang.
“The three suspects could be involved in what the sheriff’s office is calling a hybrid gang,” a spokesperson said Wednesday. “We are still piecing together the full scope of their affiliations and motivations.”
Apawit and Coington appeared in court Wednesday morning for their first appearances. Coington, who appeared first, asked to hire his own attorney. According to the sheriff’s office, both were seen on surveillance video before the shooting and “had every opportunity to stop it from happening.”
A judge denied bond for both men, ordering them to have no contact with the victims or witnesses. They are scheduled to return to court on July 28. If convicted on the charge of accessory before the fact, they face up to seven years in prison.
The chaos at the courthouse Monday left the building locked down for hours, with dozens of people trapped inside. Witnesses described a scene of pure panic. “He been sitting on the bench all morning looking mad,” one person is heard saying in a video recording.
“They said he was looking at me when I walked over. Whole time he probably been on that.” Another bystander said, “I was just trying to go to court, get my stuff dismissed.
And then she got shot in her titty or something.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate the possibility that Mufasa, Apawit, and Coington planned the shooting for days. Court documents show that Mufasa left his backpack in the alley near the courthouse before the attack, and investigators believe the backpack contained additional weapons or evidence. The sheriff’s office said the three men entered the courthouse, changed clothes, and then split up to locate Lucas.
“They were methodical,” an investigator told the court Tuesday. “They intended for this to happen.”
Kimberly Simmons, still grieving her son, said the revenge shooting has only deepened her pain. “I’m really scared because at this point with all that going on at the courthouse yesterday, I don’t even know if I’m safe to stay at home,” she said. “I don’t want no violence going on on either side of the family, their side or my side.
I just want justice to be served for my son the legal way. Let the courthouse and the police do their job as they already was doing. But all this other stuff is uncalled for.”
Latoya Lucas remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to a hospital spokesperson. Her sister was treated and released. The two officers who were shot are also recovering.
The courthouse has resumed normal operations with increased security, and law enforcement officials have urged the public to remain calm. “This was a targeted, violent act that has no place in our community,” Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard said in a statement. “We will use every resource to ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable.”
The case highlights a cycle of violence that has stunned the small city of Wilson, where homicides are rare. The June 23 murder of Learius Simmons was only the second homicide in the city this year. Now, less than a month later, a courthouse shooting has left a young woman fighting for her life, two officers wounded, and a mother pleading for peace.
“Just let my son sleep in peace,” Kimberly Simmons said, her voice breaking. “Let the law handle it.”
