On Friday, September 17th, 2021, at approximately 11:45 a.m. Kinston Police Officers conducting proactive patrols located Nigel Wiggins, 24, of Kinston, N.C. walking along the 700 block of Terminal St. in Kinston with a firearm. Officers attempted contact with Wiggins and after a brief foot chase he was arrested and the firearm was recovered. Wiggins was placed in the Lenoir County Jail to await federal prosecution for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Officers were able to locate additional evidence that implicated Wiggins in the shooting of Tyreke Mills on September 15th, 2021. On October 6th, 2021, Wiggins was charged with Attempted Murder and Discharging a Firearm into an Occupied Dwelling. Wiggins remains in the Lenoir County Jail.

On Tuesday, September 15th, 2021, at approximately 11:20 p.m. Kinston Police Officers were  dispatched to the 700 block of W. Highland Ave. in reference to multiple calls regarding shots  being fired in the area. After responding to the scene Kinston Police Officers were contacted by  UNC Lenoir Hospital in reference to a subject that had arrived with a gunshot wound. Officers  arrived at the hospital and identified the victim as Tyreke Mills, 27, of Kinston N.C. Mr. Mills  was suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound and was treated and released.  Officers were able to locate the scene of the incident and are working to establish the identities  of the perpetrator(s). 

The Kinston Police Department places the highest priority on investigating crimes of violence  perpetrated in our city. We will investigate such cases with no compromise for crime, and  continue to seek assistance from the community we proudly serve. If anyone has information  about this incident, please call the Kinston Police Department’s Tips Line at 252-939-4020 or  Lenoir County Crime Stoppers at 252-523-4444. Calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential and  anonymous, and the caller may be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an  arrest.