A 76-year-old woman shot alongside her neighbor on Creswell Court in Greensboro’s upscale Grandover community has died from her injuries, a day after the first victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Margaret Collins succumbed to her gunshot wounds on Monday, August 24, according to the Greensboro Police Department, following the death of 73-year-old Kathryn Binkley, who did not survive the initial shooting Sunday night.
Police say officers, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Guilford County EMS and Greensboro Fire all responded to a shooting report on Creswell Court on Sunday night, where first responders found two victims with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds, according to the Greensboro Police Department. Witnesses at the scene identified a neighbor, 64-year-old Michael Wade Hargett, as the assailant, the department said. Creswell Court sits within Grandover, a gated golf community in Southwest Greensboro where townhomes border the Grandover East golf course and have recently sold for between $600,000 and more than $730,000, according to Realtor.com — an affluent enclave more accustomed to quiet fairways than gunfire.
Barricade Standoff Ends With Suspect’s Arrest
After the shooting, Hargett barricaded himself inside a nearby residence, prompting a large-scale police response. The department’s Special Response Team and Hostage Negotiation Team both responded to the home, units that the City of Greensboro says are typically deployed to secure perimeters and attempt peaceful surrenders in barricaded-suspect situations before any tactical entry is made, per the City of Greensboro.
Police teams eventually entered the residence and found Hargett with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Tactical officers coordinate with Guilford County EMS to render immediate on-scene medical care during these operations, and Hargett was treated before being transported to a local hospital, per the same city account. He was then arrested and, according to WFMY News 2, now faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling and discharging a firearm within city limits.
Charges Carry Mandatory Life Sentence Under State Law
Under North Carolina General Statute 14-17, first-degree murder is a Class A felony that carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole, or the death penalty, upon conviction, according to FindLaw. State law requires prosecutors to establish premeditation or specific felony conditions to secure a Class A murder conviction, meaning the case against Hargett will hinge on evidence that has not yet been made public…