Rocky Mount, N.C. — Two people — a woman and a 15-year-old — were shot inside a Chili’s in Rocky Mount on Friday night. Natasha Berry, 38, was pronounced dead at UNC Nash Healthcare after the shooting.
The teenage boy, also an employee at the Chili’s, was treated a local hospital and released on Friday.
Nytica Battle, 25, was arrested later at her home after the Rocky Mount Police said she fled the scene of the shooting. She’s facing charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and going armed to the terror of the public.
Rocky Mount Police said that the two women knew each other and got into a fight. Witnesses said the shooting happened at the restaurant’s bar. After hearing gunfire, witnesses say they ran into the restaurant’s kitchen, looking for a place to hide.
Battle is being held at the Nash County Detention Facility without bond.
A violent week in Rocky Mount
Also on Friday, Chief Hassell and Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson put out statements addressing the recent gun violence.
Mayor Roberson wrote that the city’s recent shootings “are not random” and “detectives are following up on all leads.”
Six people were shot this week in Rocky Mount and four people were killed.
A woman died after being shot in her home Sunday night in Rocky Mount. Police believe that someone fired shots into her home and left the area. Rocky Mount Police have not made any arrests in this shooting.
Two people were shot at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Monday and 24-year-old Rodrick Battle was killed. An 18-year-old was arrested and charged with murder in Battle’s death.
Battle was an aspiring rapper, who leaves behind two young children and a wife.
On Thursday, a 20-year-old man was shot and killed in his car in Rocky Mount at around 8 a.m. According to police, Javonta Crandall was shot and killed when a car pulled alongside the vehicle he was in and opened fire. Later that afternoon, a driver believed to be fleeing from gunfire plowed into a home near Marigold Park.
Police have not arrested anyone in connection to Thursday’s shootings.
Rocky Mount police said in a statement early Saturday morning that they would be increasing patrols in the city with hopes to reduce gun violence. They are also planning to hold a press conference on Tuesday to address the city’s rise in gun violence.
