Eric Matthew Laird, 30, was shot and killed in Cary, North Carolina, on July 2, 2023. Though early reports associated him with Cary, later records identified Laird as being from Lacey, Washington. He had traveled to North Carolina to spend the weekend with a fellow Army veteran, William Jameson Reece Atkins, who picked him up from the airport on or about July 1, 2023.

According to trial testimony described in the court’s factual account, the men drank heavily, inspected firearms, and later went outside where Laird fell into a creek. Back inside, Atkins said Laird appeared paranoid, grabbed an AR-15, pointed it at him and threatened to shoot. Atkins testified the two struggled for the rifle, he called 911 using Laird’s phone, and then fired five shots at Laird while still on the call. Officers found Laird with multiple gunshot wounds; he died at the scene.

Atkins was arrested, tried, and convicted of second-degree murder; he was sentenced to 216 to 272 months. An appeal later challenged the trial court’s self-defense instructions, with the appellate opinion emphasizing evidence that Laird had possessed the rifle and threatened Atkins. Does anyone have information about Laird’s movements in Cary the night before or who else might have been with him?