Two people were arrested Thursday night following a shooting into a house in the Reagan Drive area of Roanoke Rapids.

People were in the house but no one inside was injured, according to Lieutenant Bobby Martin of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.

Preliminary investigation shows the shooting could be related to a dispute over a woman, he said.

Claude, left, and Smith.

Martin credited assistance from Roanoke Rapids police to leading to the arrests of Eric Smith, 22, of Suffolk, Virginia, and Aaron Claude, 25, of Franklin, Virginia.

The stop by Roanoke Rapids Officer Terrence Tyler led to the discovery of a 9mm Uzi, an SKS rifle and a 9mm handgun. “By them (Roanoke Rapids) doing that, we may have saved some other people. These guys obviously had heavy firepower. People were home at the time. They were very luck someone didn’t get hit.”

The initial call came in shortly before 8:30 p.m.

The sheriff’s office learned several males were in a car and were shooting from it as they rode by the home.

The car was described as a beige Maxima that left the scene shortly before deputies arrived.

Roanoke Rapids police Sergeant Daniel Jenkins was monitoring the traffic and Tyler spotted and stopped the vehicle on Old Farm Road at the Shell Station in Roanoke Rapids, detaining the occupants.

Officers C. Babb and Lieutenant Bruce Norton of Roanoke Rapids also assisted.

Through further investigation it was learned that an altercation earlier in the day might have sparked the shooting.

The men were charged with discharging a weapon into occupied property, assault by pointing a gun and injury to real property. Both were jailed on $50,000 bonds and have March 21 court dates.

Martin said the sheriff’s office is currently investigating the weapons with the help of federal authorities.

The cooperation with Roanoke Rapids was key in making the arrests, Martin said. “The relaying of valuable information by Sergeant Daniel Jenkins and the keen eye of Officer Tyler greatly assisted in the apprehension of the shooters. The assistance of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department is greatly appreciated as it enabled us to remove several dangerous people and weapons from the streets.”