SANFORD, N.C. (WNCN) - The father of the accused shooter at the Sanford Christmas Parade says his son “just snapped” after the murder of his younger brother this past summer.
Two teenagers were hurt in a shooting in Sanford along the town’s Christmas parade route Monday night, officials say.
The shooting, which forced the parade to end early, happened at Wicker and Gulf streets in the Rite-Stop grocery store parking lot around 7:50 p.m., Sanford police and parade officials said.
Police arrested 20-year-old Sanford resident Deion Jamille Johns, who is now facing one count of attempted murder.
Now, Johns’ father is talking about a possible motive in the shooting.
“I apologize for what my son did. I’m pretty sure he tell you the same thing, that he’s sorry now,” said James Harrington, Johns’ dad.
Harrington told CBS North Carolina that his son was worried about his safety ever since his younger brother was murdered in July.
“He’s been kind of distraught lately because my other son got killed a couple of months ago. He’s not been himself. He’s been depressed,” Harrington said.
That deadly shooting happened around 1 a.m. on July 5 when Trevon Johns, 18, was shot to death in a street.
Police later arrested 17-year-old Urbano Garcia Sanchez in connection with the younger Johns’ murder. The deadly shooting had a profound effect on the older Johns brother.
“I don’t know what happened last night — I think he just snapped,” Harrington said.
Deion Johns’ bond was increased to $1.5 million Tuesday by a judge after a Lee County District Attorney said Johns was a danger to the community. But Harrington disagrees.
“He’s a pretty good kid, you know. He’s got two priors — he’s not a saint or anything. Misdemeanors, you know,” Harrington said. “But he’s got kids (and) spent a lot of time with them. Just an all-around good kid.”
After the shooting, 18-year-old Sean Dimitrius Matthews, of Sanford, was found suffering from several gunshot wounds to his lower abdomen area, arms and leg. He’s now recovering at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill and listed in critical condition.
A 16-year-old Sanford boy, Jadakis Tysor, was also struck by a bullet and is now being treated for injuries to his arm.
The owner of Rite-Stop told CBS North Carolina he watched his store’s surveillance video that showed a man firing shots as parade floats went by.
The store owner, Abdo Alwahishi, later released the video to CBS North Carolina.
“It was scary. Cause everybody was nervous and as soon as they heard the gunshots, people were running inside the store and people were running out,” Alwahishi said of the shooting scene. “People were also running in the other direction hoping that the bullet wouldn’t hit them.”
Just six seconds after the shooting, police officers who were stationed along the parade route swarmed the parking lot, the surveillance video showed.