Mountain getaway rocked by ‘latest chapter’ of deadly violence as officials avoid gang label in tourist town

Police in Asheville, North Carolina, say a downtown shooting that killed two people and wounded seven was a direct retaliatory act, though they have declined to call the violence gang-related in the Blue Ridge tourist town.

The early morning gunfire erupted July 19 near Biltmore Avenue and Short Coxe Avenue, an area near downtown businesses and nightlife. The Asheville Police Department (APD) said officers responded to the scene at about 2:20 a.m. and found multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds.

Two people died at the scene despite life-saving efforts, while seven others were taken to Mission Hospital, authorities said. Detectives recovered numerous shell casings and identified what police described as a large crime scene.

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The department initially said evidence suggested the shooting may have been connected to an earlier gun violence incident. Days later, Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp said investigators had determined it was "a direct retaliatory act" tied to a July 5 shooting at an apartment complex.

Stepp said the deadly episode was the "latest chapter" in an ongoing pattern of retaliatory violence across the city. One person was shot in the July 5 incident, she said, and investigators made an arrest in that case.

But the chief declined to classify the violence as gang-related at a community briefing on July 24, when reporters pressed her about whether the people involved belonged to rival gangs or families.

"These are two groups of individuals," Stepp said at the briefing. She said the groups had ties because the people involved knew one another and had committed "ongoing retaliatory acts" against each other.

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Stepp said police had identified several persons of interest in the Biltmore Avenue case but were still working to locate and interview them. She also declined to discuss whether those shot were intended targets or to provide details about the connection between the July shootings, citing the active investigation.

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The chief said APD was coordinating with local, state and federal partners as it reviewed evidence and tracked upcoming events and large gatherings.

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Stepp later reportedly told ABC local station WLOS that gang activity exists in the city, though she maintained the recent shootings are "not traditional gang activity."

At the community briefing, the question whether the violence should be called gang-related resurfaced when a local pastor who identified himself as a gang-prevention facilitator told Mayor Esther Manheimer he had offered the city a prevention program since 2016.

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The pastor asked why the program had not been considered as a way to prevent gang violence. Manheimer said she had recently seen his email and wanted to learn more, but pointed to Buncombe County’s community safety and violence-prevention plan and the city’s existing prevention partnerships.

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"We’re always open to looking at other ideas," Manheimer said, adding that the city was seeking ways to expand and improve its response to community violence.

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Manheimer also argued that North Carolina’s loosening gun laws and limits on local gun regulations had made it harder for cities to address the problem.

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She said businesses have an increasing responsibility to prevent people from bringing guns into their establishments, though she said recent disputes often escalate after someone retrieves a weapon from a vehicle.

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A reporter asked Stepp about prior reporting that a Glock switch was involved. Stepp confirmed the discovery, saying police had recovered one and that "that’s what we saw here." She did not say whether it came from the shooting scene, a vehicle, a suspect or another piece of evidence.

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APD has asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 828-252-1110, submit an anonymous tip through the TIP2APD app or text TIP2APD to 847411.

Fox News Digital has reached out to APD, Manheimer’s office and the pastor who raised the gang-prevention program for comment.