While she declined to discuss the matter for the record, Kimberly D. Bracy said in a post on the rrspin.com Facebook page the event she planned for Friday night at the basketball court in Scoco Park to remember the victims allegedly killed by Herman Lee “Smurf” Edwards was cancelled due to safety concerns brought to her attention.
In the post she says, however, “The cancellation of the Healing the Community Prayer Vigil … does not mean that we cannot pray, it just means we 'watch as well as pray.'”
Bracy said in the post, “Once it is deemed safer to proceed we will reschedule this event.”
Bracy encourages those who were planning to attend the Friday night event to attend a march Saturday, which will begin at Weldon High School at 11 a.m.
Weldon Police Chief Mark Macon confirmed that march, which will go to the Weldon housing projects, will be done under escort of the police department and sheriff's office.
Macon declined to say whether investigators consider the Scoco Park area as hot, given the cancellation of the events along with unconfirmed reports Edwards allegedly has scores to settle with other people and that one of the areas he frequents is that area.
Meanwhile, law enforcement continue their pursuit of Edwards, who is wanted in the murders of Brandon Tyrone Peterson and Lorenzo Tann Jr.
“We've already had that going on for several weeks,” Major Bruce Temple of the Halifax County Sheriff's Office said this morning.
The capture of Edwards is a matter of public safety, Temple said. “The actions he has partaken in are of the worst nature and extremely dangerous. These activities pose a threat to completely innocent people.”
Temple encourages Edwards to turn himself in. “We would love for him to stop the violence and turn himself in so we can go through the justice system.”
The left photo was altered using Photoshop to show
what Edwards may look like as a woman. The right
photo is his latest mugshot.
It appears, however, Edwards is not going to do that, Temple said, since he is taking extreme measures to elude law enforcement, one of them being dressing as a woman. “We've tried to go through family and acquaintances but have gotten no feedback or hint of cooperation. That's not a good sign.”
Temple declined to discuss an alleged hit list that street talk says he has compiled. In cases where there are hit lists, Temple said the sheriff's office informs the threatened parties.
“We have teams extensively searching for Herman Lee Edwards,” Captain Andy Jackson of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said. “Anyone found aiding and abetting Herman Lee Edwards will be charged. We would like for him to surrender peacefully.”
