Jack Boden
The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — At least four 911 calls released Friday in a fatal shooting on Vancouver Drive earlier this month revealed bystanders’ efforts to save a man’s life after he was shot.
Quincy Devone Lewis, 26, of Fayetteville, died after being shot multiple times shortly before 6:30 p.m. June 10 in a parking lot of the Branson Creek Commons apartment complex in the 300 block of Vancouver Drive.
Damon Devon Henry, 26, of Spring Lake, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the killing.
According to warrant information filed with Cumberland County courts, Lewis was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Henry’s girlfriend, when the woman pulled into a parking space at the complex.
Video surveillance allegedly shows Henry exiting a nearby SUV already parked there and speaking to his girlfriend at the driver’s door, the document states.
The girlfriend then entered the building, the report states, while Henry and Lewis “exchanged words,” before the men each pulled out a weapon. Lewis was shot multiple times, police said. It did not appear that he ever fired his weapon, according to the court record.
Henry, who was still on scene when police arrived, allegedly told detectives that he shot Lewis in self-defense, but police believed his story was inconsistent with the evidence, court documents state. Police did not reveal what the substance of the argument.
Several 911 calls from the night of the shooting that were released Friday document bystanders’ efforts to save Lewis’ life.
“I’m scared,” one female caller said, her voice quaking as she reported the shooting.
The first of these calls came at 6:26 p.m. from a man who would be by Lewis’ side until police arrived on the scene.
“Come on, please help, this man can’t breathe, man,” he pleaded in the call that lasted a little more than five minutes.
The dispatcher asked if he had seen whoever shot Lewis.
“I don’t know who did it,” he said. “Just please get this man some help.”
At the dispatcher’s request, the caller can be heard asking other bystanders if they had a clean, dry towel to apply to the wound. He said there were at least three and it appeared Lewis had been shot in the back. While waiting for the towel, the caller can be heard asking Lewis to stay with him and pleading with the dispatcher to send help quickly.
When another bystander was able to provide a towel for the wound, others can be heard in the background of the call trying to keep Lewis’s attention.
“OK, can you talk?” one bystander asked.
“Hey man, do you know where you’re at?” asked another.
A bystander began applying pressure to the wound with the towel following the dispatcher’s instructions, and the caller began questioning if Lewis was still alive.
“Lady, I think he’s gone,” the caller said before realizing that Lewis was still breathing.
The dispatcher asked the caller to tell her every time he took a breath.
“OK, he took one now,” the caller said.
Thirteen seconds passed before the caller reported Lewis taking another breath.
About 30 seconds before police arrived, the dispatcher then tried getting the caller to give Lewis CPR, but the man said he was afraid to flip Lewis from his stomach onto his back.
During these 30 seconds, several bystanders can be heard in the call warning others to not touch anything before police arrive, while two women can be heard pleading with Lewis to keep fighting.
“Fight, honey, fight; you got it” one woman said while another tried to reassure Lewis that paramedics would be there soon.
Police and medical responders can then be heard arriving on the scene before the call ended.
According to court documents, Lewis was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center but later died from his injuries.
Police records indicate two vehicles were towed from the scene and two weapons were seized: a Taurus revolver and a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 45-caliber handgun.
Lewis’ slaying is the 22nd homicide investigation for the Fayetteville Police Department this year.
___
(c)2021 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)