North Carolina Family Tragedy Leaves Two Dead, Two Children Critically Injured as Police Search for a Motive

Two people were killed and two others were critically hurt in a shooting at a Gaston County home on Thursday.wsoctv

A quiet North Carolina neighborhood has been left stunned after two members of the same family were killed and two children critically injured in a shooting that allegedly involved a young woman and her boyfriend — before the couple fled across state lines and were later found dead following a police pursuit.

Camryn Moore, 26, and Cory Armstrong, 29, are accused of carrying out the shooting Thursday morning inside the Gastonia home where they lived with members of Moore’s family.

Police have not publicly identified a motive, leaving neighbors struggling to understand how such violence erupted inside a family they remembered as friendly and unremarkable.

“They seem to be very nice people,” neighbor Loretta Forbes said. “It just shakes you up to think that could happen so close by.”

Police called to a chaotic scene

Cory Armstrong, 29, pictured.Gaston County Police

Gaston County police were dispatched to a home on Forbes Road at approximately 8:43 a.m. Thursday following reports of gunfire inside the residence.

Six people, including Moore and Armstrong, reportedly lived at the property.

Dispatch audio captured the urgency facing first responders as officers arrived.

“We’re going to need multiple ambulances, multiple ambulances,” one officer could be heard saying, reporting that there were “several subjects.”

Another dispatch message indicated authorities had initially been told that Moore and Armstrong may have been shooting at each other. Officers were also advised that a male relative may have been asleep upstairs when he was shot.

Inside the home, police discovered a devastating scene.

Victoria “Heather” Moore, 50, Camryn’s mother, and Josiah Bumgardner, 38, her uncle, were found dead, according to authorities.

Two children were also injured and taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. They were later described in a fundraiser as being in critical but stable condition.

Neighbors struggle to understand what happened

Brianna Crouse, a neighbor, was in utter disbelief of the violent episode.wsoctv

The shooting shocked residents of the normally quiet community near the South Carolina border.

Forbes recalled repeatedly saying, “My God. Oh God,” after learning what had happened nearby.

“I want to know what happened. I want to know about the family,” she said, adding that she was praying for them.

Another resident, Brianna Crouse, said she could hardly believe such an incident had occurred on the road.

“It’s absolutely nuts. I just can’t believe it,” she said. “Nothing bad has ever happened on this road as long as I’ve lived here.”

Robert Cline similarly described south Gastonia as a tight-knit community where serious trouble was unusual and neighbors generally knew one another.

Adam Baker, who lives roughly two blocks from the home, said the enormous police response immediately felt out of place.

“It’s incredibly unusual,” he said. “I mean it’s a very quiet neighborhood.”

Suspects fled North Carolina

Camryn Moore, 26.Gaston County Police

The case then expanded far beyond Gastonia.

Authorities say Moore and Armstrong left the area following the shooting, setting off a search that ultimately crossed state lines.

They were eventually tracked to Ohio on Friday, where authorities became involved in a high-speed pursuit.

The chase ended with both Moore and Armstrong dead from gunshot wounds.

North Carolina authorities said their deaths were being investigated as a possible double suicide, although the Ohio Highway Patrol had not confirmed that conclusion at the time of the report.

With both suspects dead, investigators are now left reconstructing the events that preceded the shooting and trying to establish what could have triggered it.

For the residents who knew the family only as their quiet neighbors, that unanswered question has become one of the most unsettling parts of the case.

Police have yet to publicly reveal what they believe led to the violence inside the Gastonia home.