Roanoke Rapids police this afternoon identified the victims of a Monday morning fatal shooting as a 15-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man, both from Whiteville.

The victims, Mariah Thompson and Patrick Shane Faircloth, were riding with 19-year-old Isaiah Cooper, who is also from Whiteville, Chief Lawrence Wiggins said in a statement. Cooper was detained, interviewed, and released.

The shooting occurred in the area of Vance and West Eleventh streets.

Wiggins declined immediate comment on what brought the three to Roanoke Rapids.

While a friend of the Faircloth family said Shane had no ties to Roanoke Rapids, the three made the trip to Halifax County so the 15-year-old could visit her boyfriend.

Kristin Bordeaux said Shane had turned 20 in March and had graduated from high school last year. 

He was a Carolina-squatted truck enthusiast—pickups with loud pipes that commonly have hydraulics and other accessories. “He lived for stuff like that. He loved working on his truck. He loved rims and tires.”

Shane’s love for those trucks will be memorialized on Friday as friends and family gather at the Whiteville Walmart at 7 p.m. for The Final Ride. “Anything dealing with an exotic truck, he was all for it.”

Shane’s truck will be on display at the memorial service, Bordeaux said. “We’re just going to do a ride for him.”

She described Shane as an outgoing person who was mechanically inclined. “He very rarely met a stranger. If you were around him and you were close, he would have given you the shirt off his back. He would do that for anybody. He loved kids, he was a hard worker, he always respected the elderly.”

The news of his death was shocking, Bordeaux said. “He was the type of guy who was never involved in drama or complications.”

People in the community are keeping a close watch on the case, she said. “His family is wanting a lot of answers, which they deserve. We’re just hoping they get down to the nitty-gritty part of it and what led up to it.”

Wiggins said the investigation continues and investigators are pursuing multiple leads. “We are collaborating with agencies at the local and state level to identify and apprehend those responsible for this crime.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the RRPD, Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444, or www.crimestopperspays.com