The Halifax County Sheriff's Office is currently investigating a shooting death that occurred on Cottonwood Road outside Roanoke Rapids near the old airport late this evening.

Captain Rich Somogyi could not immediately say whether the probe was a murder investigation or otherwise.

The death investigation, in which the victim was found in his car, began soon after a report of a traffic collision was received on the road. The sheriff's office then received a report of shots fired and found the victim's vehicle had crashed through a fence at a residence.

At this point Somogyi could not say how the call of the vehicle crash played into the death.

Family and friends at the scene wept uncontrollably and one questioned a relative, in between anguished cries, “Ma, is he really dead?”

A detective was seen consoling a family member.