Devils Hills pier shooting: Henry Hargis student at First Flight High School shoots fellow student, Zane Hughes over ongoing feud at Avalon Fishing Pier in Dare County, North Carolina. Suspect had been previously expelled for printing 3D gun parts and threatening a school shooting.
A 16 year old student at a North Carolina school has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a 19 year old that took place Thursday afternoon, July 31, in the parking lot of the Avalon Fishing Pier in Kill Devil Hills.
While Dare County authorities declined to publicly identify the suspect and the victim, social media identified the shooter as Henry Hargis of First Flight High School, with the victim identified as his classmate, Zane Hughes.
Juvenile suspect to be charged with first degree murder
A third person, described as a 15 year old teenager was injured after a bullet ricocheted, striking them in the leg. That individual was airlifted to a medical facility in Norfolk, Virginia, for treatment and shortly later released, WITN reported.
Police said they identified the suspect and stopped his vehicles after leaving the scene in Southern Shores. The murder weapon was found in the suspect’s car. He was taken into custody by police.
Avalon Pier said the shooting was a result of a feud between the two students.
First Prosecutorial District DA Jeff Cruden has since indicated intending to charge the suspect with first degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, with the intent to kill, inflicting serious injury.
‘The suspect is a juvenile, so he was charged via a juvenile petition,’ the DA added. ‘He will remain under juvenile court jurisdiction until an indictment is returned in Superior Court.’
Teen suspect previously printed 3D gun parts and threatened school shooting
Witnesses reported seeing the suspect circling the area before gunfire erupted.
In a press conference on Thursday, Kill Devil Hills Assistant Police Chief Dana Harris said he’d never seen anything like the shooting throughout 48 years in law enforcement.
A post on social media alleged that the suspect had been previously disciplined at school and expelled for allegedly printing 3D gun parts and threatened to shoot at school.
Posted Laine Dinwiddie: ‘I need to say this. And I need to say it loud: I feel like he has been swept under the rug in Dare County for about a year now.
‘Henry Hargis was the shooter at the incident at Avalon Pier today. This is the same 16 year old kid that was kicked out of school for 3D printing gun parts and threatened to shoot at school. The gun he made at age 14 was stolen from his house and somehow recovered in Elizabeth City a few months later. He was on law enforcements radar. He had 3D imaged parts to build an AR. He had an ankle monitor on at one point and was released. I’m really not sure what happened but I know lives are lost. I feel like this could have been played differently. There were adults in the room that clearly knew that he was a threat to society but did nothing.
‘The mental health system, judicial system and education system has failed these victims today.
My heart breaks for everyone involved.’
Teen victim previously awarded college scholarship
A post on social media revealed the victim previously being awarded an academic scholarship.
Read a May 10, 2024 post shared by the Outer Banks Community Foundation: ‘First Flight High School senior Zane Hughes received the inaugural Smith-Cooper Scholarship from the Outer Banks Community Foundation recently.’
North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation is assisting police in the active investigation.
