Weldon police and State Bureau of Investigation agents as of this report were out at 606 Cedar Street investigating the death of 2-year-old Dyunna Anderson when shots were fired outside the residence, a shooting that also critically injured her 54-year-old grandmother, Catherine Price.

The Halifax County Sheriff's Office is investigating the murder of a teenager on The Strip at Eleventh and Maple street in what has traditionally been called South Weldon.

Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp plans a 1 p.m. news conference to give details on that shooting as there is heavy state and local media interest in both cases. He said Weldon police Chief Mark Macon will join him in that news conference.

Mr. Price talks about his granddaughter.

Tripp said this morning, without elaboration, he believes the murders are related.

The South Weldon area murder left a 15-year-old boy dead and two others injured. It occurred around 9:30 p.m.

Macon said it is not immediately clear whether the Cedar Street shooting, which occurred around 12:30 this morning, is related.

“It's a bad situation,” Macon said at the Cedar Street scene this morning, where TV news crews parked satellite trucks and did live feeds. “We have a 2-year-old who passed away as a result of a deliberate shooting and a 54-year-old female relative who was critically injured.”

Macon said someone walked up to the residence and shot at the house. The child and grandmother were in the same room. Multiple shots were fired, but Macon declined to say what type of weapon was used.

This was the second murder in three weeks within the town limits, Macon said, as the police department continues to investigate the murder of Reginald Tyrice Edwards on July 17.

Macon said while the town's overall crime index for 2012-2013 was down, having two murders within his jurisdiction in three weeks is disturbing. “We're seeing more guns on the streets. This year has been the worst I've seen as far as murder since I've been here.”

Prior to the latest murders, it had been seven years since the last one, Macon said.

Larry Price, the child's grandfather, said he has been living at 606 Cedar Street for 14 years. “The way I look at it, my adopted daughter (the child's mother) must have did something on the street,” to provoke the shooting.

Mr. Price said he was sleeping at the time when he heard three shots. “I heard hollering and screaming. I didn't know my wife had been shot.”

He said his granddaughter was precious to him. “She was always hugging and kissing us. She was sweet as she could be.”

Macon declined to verify Mr. Price's account, saying right now there is no known motivation or suspect descriptions.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Weldon Police Department at 252-536-3136, the sheriff's office at 252-583-8201 or Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.