On December 31, 2023, at about 2:30 a.m., officers from the Laurinburg Police Department responded to a reported shooting at an apartment complex in the 700 block of West Boulevard in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Responding officers found 35-year-old Rashawn Lamonte Thompson of Maxton deceased from a gunshot wound. Thompson was born November 6, 1988, and is survived by his mother Sara Thompson; his daughter Kaziah Rhaja Watson; his son Rashawn Lamonte Thompson Jr.; brothers Kendrick Thompson and Bryan Braddy; and sisters Samara Johnson-VanKirk and JaKima Thompson.

The suspected shooter, also a Maxton resident, surrendered to Laurinburg police immediately after the incident. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the suspect’s identity and say the investigation is ongoing; motive and potential charges have not been released. A visitation for Thompson was held January 20, 2024, at S & L Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Maxton, with a Celebration of Life on January 21 at Townsend Middle School.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about what happened that night, please come forward to assist the investigation.