Asheville police investigating possible link between juvenile homicide and prior armed robbery

ASHEVILLE — City police are investigating a possible connection between a juvenile killed in a Sept. 23 shooting and an alleged armed robbery at the same residence in August, according to APD spokesman Rick Rice.

The juvenile killed Sept. 3 was one of two people involved in what the Asheville Police Department described as an attempted home invasion “gone wrong.”

On Aug. 11, police were called to the Allen Avenue residence in Skyland to investigate a report of an armed robbery and burglary, according to a police report obtained by the Citizen Times. No charges have been filed or arrests made in connection with the incident, Rice told the Citizen Times in a Sept. 25 email.

A few weeks later, on September 23, police responded to a call of a gunshot wound at the Skyland residence around 5:44 p.m., where they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the APD press release that day. The person was transported to Mission Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries. This is the eighth homicide investigated by APD this year.

On September 24, APD identified the person who died in the shooting, but did not release the victim’s name, citing his status as a juvenile.

Criminal Investigation Division detectives responded to the scene along with forensic technicians and are investigating the shooting.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about the incident to submit an anonymous tip by texting TIP2APD to 847411 or using the TIP2APD smartphone app (search for “Asheville PD” in the App Store). Or contact APD at 828-252-1110.

More: Erwin High School graduate, homicide victim ‘beamed with joy’: Police records reveal more details

More: Asheville-area teens charged in attempted robbery in Leicester; one charged with hit-and-run

This story will be updated.

Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. He can be reached at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville police investigate link between homicide and prior armed robbery