When Lisa Mangum wants to spend time with her only son, she must make the trip to Northside Cemetery off Ramsey Street.
That’s where Douglas “Doug” Mangum, who died in 2022 at age 31, is buried. His mother makes regular visits to place fresh flowers at his grave, which features a picture of the smiling father of two and the inscription “World’s greatest son, grandson, dad and friend.” The tombstone was designed by Doug’s 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, Lisa Mangum told CityView.
Doug Mangum is one of dozens lost to gun violence in Cumberland County in recent years. Last year, 52 people were killed in homicides in Fayetteville alone, according to Fayetteville Police Department data; spokesperson Rickelle Harrell did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
But an especially troubling phenomenon has taken hold of Cumberland County in recent months — drive-by shootings, defined by the U.S. Dept. of Justice as “an incident when someone fires a gun from a vehicle at another vehicle, a person, a structure, or another stationary object.”
County residents reeled last month when Zion Gibbs, 7, was fatally shot in the head in his living room during a drive-by shooting. According to a GoFundMe created by Zion’s aunt, the little boy was playing video games when he was shot under the left eye shortly after midnight June 7.
“It was never a dull moment coming together as a family when Zion was in the room,” the GoFundMe states. “His vibrant, energetic, and sporadic dance moves would start the festivities and all the other kids would follow along. He had a love for different genres of music, especially gospel and R&B.”
Zion died three days later at UNC Children’s Hospital, the GoFundMe states. No arrests have been made in his killing.
Ten drive-by shootings were reported to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office between Jan. 1 and June 24 of this year, according to spokesperson Sgt. Mickey Locklear. Records show none of those shootings were fatal and no injuries were reported. The Fayetteville Police Department documented 70 drive-by shootings in that same time period, records show, with two — including the death of Zion Gibbs — being fatal.
Chief Errol Jarman said the Spring Lake Police Department has not received any reports of drive-by shootings this year. Hope Mills Town Clerk Ashley Wyatt reported the same for the Hope Mills Police Department in response to a records request from CityView.
Data on drive-by shootings in North Carolina and throughout the United States is scarce. The most recent report on drive-by shootings was published by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit that researches and educates on types of violence, in 2008. That report shows North Carolina as ranking seventh in the nation at that time for drive-by shootings. The study found drive-bys most commonly occurred between 7 p.m. and midnight, peaking in August and dropping off in colder months.
A guide for police departments published in March 2007 by the U.S. Dept. of Justice claims it is difficult to get much information on drive-bys because they typically happen quickly at night and “are very chaotic.” Furthermore, residents in neighborhoods impacted by drive-by shootings may be intimidated by gang members or distrust the police, the guide states. Areas near major roads are more at risk, since they make it easier for shooters to get in and out, and “wide open streets” are popular for the same reason, according to the guide.
The most recent report from the N.C. Violent Death and Reporting System, published June 11, found that of the 2,537 North Carolinians whose deaths were tied to violence in 2021, firearms were responsible for the majority of those deaths. That was especially true for children who died by violence, with firearms tied to 70.2% of those deaths, the report states. The report does not address drive-by shootings.
In Cumberland County, 26 out of every 100,000 residents died because of a firearm in 2021, according to the report.
‘It’s getting worse by the day’
Ashley Clark was shot in the back and lost her 22-year-old brother, Alonzo, as a result of a drive-by shooting outside her North Street home in October 2022. The Clarks’ half-brother, Carl Andre McGill, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder five days later, police said. McGill’s trial will take place at the end of October, Ashley Clark told CityView.
As she recovered from her injury and struggled with the grief of losing her brother, Clark said, she felt for a while that things were getting better. But after what would have been Alonzo’s 23rd birthday in November, she faced a backslide, she said.
“Now it just seems like it’s getting worse by the day,” Clark said.
She tries to visit her little brother’s grave daily, she said, but no matter what, she makes sure to visit on Saturdays. That’s because Alonzo was killed on a Saturday, and his funeral was on a Saturday, she said.
“Everybody that knew him knew that he was a good person,” Clark said. “He had a good heart for everybody.”
McGill’s motive for the shooting remains unclear, she said.
Cassandra Fuller’s son, Mario Boone, was fatally shot in March 2021. Though he was not killed in a drive-by, the circumstances of his death remain unclear, and his killer was never caught. The loss haunts Boone’s family every day, family members told CityView.
Mario was her only son, Fuller said, and a loving brother to his two little sisters. A dedicated singer and devout Christian, he loved to spend his time playing with his nephews and joking around with his mother in the kitchen, she said.
Erica Boone, one of Mario’s sisters, said she last saw her brother the night before he was killed.
“He came to my house, bringing me some clippers because my fiancé was cutting our son’s hair; he had just turned 2,” she said, tearing up.
They were supposed to celebrate her son’s birthday that weekend as a family. Instead, they ended up planning Mario’s funeral.
Fuller said she initially struggled to believe the detective who told her Mario was dead.
“I said, ‘No, you’re lying. Let me call him,’” she recalled. “So I called his number. I kept calling his number. He wouldn’t ever pick up. He would never pick up.”
That same painful disbelief would hit Lisa Mangum three months later, when a doctor at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center told her Doug had succumbed to his injuries. He was shot after answering the door at his Veanna Drive home, she told CityView. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Tirreil Mario Maynor on charges of first-degree murder, felony conspiracy and discharging a firearm into occupied property in Mangum’s death several weeks later, according to police.
Doug was the glue to their family, Lisa Mangum said. He loved fun, his mother’s cooking and, above all, the beach, especially Myrtle Beach.
“You couldn’t be around Doug without having a good time,” she said. “You couldn’t have a bad day.”
Two years later, her family is struggling to make peace with the loss.
“It’s something I’ll never get over,” Mangum said. “My heart aches every day. Every day. I’m lucky to get four hours of sleep.”
‘Put the gun down’
The family members of those lost to gun violence told CityView their hope is to prevent other families from experiencing their pain.
“It troubles my spirit, because murders on top of murders are happening all over for foolish reasons,” Mangum said. “And it has to stop. Because whoever pulled the trigger, I don’t know how they’re living, but I’m empty every day.”
Gun violence ruins the lives of those who commit the violence and those lost to it, forever changing all families involved, she said.
If she could share one thing with the community, Clark said, it would be a plea to end the violence.
“Put the gun down, man,” she said. “It’s so many people that’s out here that’s ruining lives for no reason.”
And for Fuller, while nothing can bring her only son back, justice in his killing would be a start.
“It has been three years, and it’s just torture,” she said.
Those with information in the death of Mario Boone should contact Fayetteville Police Department Detective R. Vernon at 910-729-2525 or Crimestoppers at 910-483-8477. Crimestoppers tips can also be submitted online or through the free “P3 Tips” app on the Apple and Google Play stores.
Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy
The writer uses the term “gun violence” to describe the cause of death . . . as in “those lost to gun violence” as if such violence were an impersonal force. This is not accurate reporting, and I think a journalist should be accurate. This is violence carried out by a person against another person, and the solution rests not in the gun, but in heart of the one who uses the gun. Ashely Clark got it right: “Put the gun down, man.” The reporting needs to be deeper and focus on why so many young men don’t do that.