One person was fatally shot at the historic annual 10-day Tucker’s Grove Camp Meeting in North Carolina early Sunday morning as one of the oldest continuously operating African American religious camp meetings in the South prepared to close with large-scale worship services and family feasts.
Deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office told The Charlotte Observer that they were providing security for the event when the shooting happened about 1:20 a.m.
When asked for further comment Monday, a spokesperson with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the shooting with The Christian Post but declined to share any other details because the case is still an active investigation.
“Deputies were providing security services at Tucker’s Grove Campground … when a disturbance involving a firearm occurred,” the sheriff’s office said a news release Sunday. “During the disturbance, an individual was shot by an unknown suspect. The suspect was pursued by deputies but fled the area. Deputies on scene as well as Lincoln County EMS personnel provided lifesaving measures, and the victim was transported to Atrium Main but died a short time later.”
The camp meeting, which has been operating since the 1870s, usually starts on the third Saturday in August and runs through the fourth Sunday, which the closing day campers call Big Sunday, according to Catawba Valley News.
Tuckers Grove Church, which hosted the event, did not immediately respond to calls for comment. The church noted in a social media post that a concert was held at the campground, starting at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Anyone with information on the shooting is being asked to contact Detective Woodard at 704-689-7019, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 704-732-9050, or Lincoln County Communications at 704-735-820.
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