Authorities say a months-long search for a suspected gunman in a deadly Harnett County shooting ended on March 17, when deputies arrested 25-year-old Christionn Morquise Bristow. He is now in custody in Harnett County on outstanding warrants tied to a June 21, 2025 shooting in the Shawtown area of Lillington that left one woman dead and two other people wounded.
Investigators obtained warrants on June 24, 2025 charging Bristow with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and felony conspiracy. Those warrants were served when he was taken into custody, according to ABC11. The station reports that Bristow was scheduled to appear in Harnett County District Court on March 18, is being held without bond, and has been identified by investigators as the suspected gunman in the June shooting.
What happened at the gathering
Deputies were called out around 11:36 p.m. on June 21 after reports of gunfire on Bethea Road and arrived to find a large crowd gathered across from the Shawtown Community Building. Investigators later described the event as a late-night house party. First responders pronounced 48-year-old Yoashica McKeithan dead in the community building parking area, while two other attendees, 39-year-old Timothy Elliott and 30-year-old Albany Little, were taken to local hospitals with gunshot wounds and were expected to recover, according to earlier house party shooting coverage.
Investigation and earlier arrests
In the days after the shooting, authorities issued warrants and eventually made at least one related arrest in July 2025. Local reporting indicates that Moashaun Lafarr Bristow was taken into custody that month and that court filings named another Bristow as a co-conspirator. The Daily Record’s account, republished by JoCo Report, noted that one suspect remained at large after those initial arrests until this month’s arrest of Christionn Bristow.
Family reaction
Relatives say the loss of McKeithan shattered their family. “When I got back and I saw my cousin’s lifeless body laying on the ground, I lost it,” Lakela Bell-Mclean told WRAL, adding that family members and neighbors have been struggling with the emotional fallout ever since the shooting…