ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — One person was shot and killed on Thursday in 160 block of Tunnel Road, and a South Carolina man has been arrested on charges of first degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to police and online records.
The shooting happened about 3:13 p.m. near the 160 block of Tunnel Road, where the victim was shot in the chest, police said in a release. The person was taken by ambulance to Mission Hospital, where he died from his injuries. The victim’s identity was not released pending notification of next of kin.
Police did not initially identify a person of interest taken into custody by officers who quickly flooded the scene. But late Friday, a spokesman confirmed that Kenneth Maurice West Jr., 24, of Rock Hill, S.C., was charged in consultation with the Buncombe County District Attorney’s office.
West was arrested and booked into the central Buncombe County Detention Facility Thursday on charges of first degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department online court records. He had a no bond hold issued by a magistrate, meaning he was ineligible for release, police said. The online records list a scheduled court appearance on Friday.
Social media reports described how Tunnel Road temporarily was closed part of Thursday afternoon between the Mountaineer Inn to the Cook Out fast-food restaurant.
Asheville Police Department spokesman Rick Rice said it was the third homicide in the city this year.
Over the past two weeks, Asheville police have reported a spate of gun-related incidents in different parts of the city, including drive-by shootings that damaged property at apartment complexes and a shooting Wednesday night that left a juvenile with minor injuries.
Prior to Thursday afternoon’s homicide, Rice said six people had been shot in Asheville so far in 2024, and officers had responded to 113 calls for service reporting shots fired or people being shot. In 2023, Asheville police officers responded to 471 calls for service reporting shots fired or someone being shot. Rice said 32 people were shot that year, including five who were killed.
This story was updated based on the charges in online court records.
