Wilmington has already recorded more firearm-related homicides through the first eight and half months of 2026 than it did for all of 2025. Police, however, say overall crime remains below recent historical averages.
The city logged nine firearm-related homicides between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, according to city statistics. That is three more than the six fatal shootings recorded during all of 2025.
While gun-related killings have increased, Wilmington Police Chief Ryan Zuidema said overall crime in the city remains lower than the five-year average.
“Those numbers fluctuate a lot from year to year, certainly, but I will tell you, like any act of violence, one homicide is one too many,” Zuidema said in an interview with the StarNews. “We obviously pay
very close attention to violent crime numbers and make sure we assign appropriate resources to them.”
Wilmington recorded 15 fatal shootings from Jan. 1, 2025-Aug. 18, 2026. Police have cleared 11 of those cases while four remain under investigation, per city statistics.
Most fatal shootings are targeted, Zuidema said
Zuidema said most fatal shootings are not random acts of violence. Instead, they typically involve people who know each other or are connected through ongoing disputes, criminal activity or retaliation.
“They’re usually, in most cases, either someone that is an acquaintance or knows someone, or they’re a targeted type of act of violence,” Zuidema said. “It’s a very small segment of the population that is both participating in the committing of these acts as well as oftentimes being the victims of them.”
The city is on pace for an increase in aggravated assaults involving firearms. Wilmington recorded 91 such incidents in 2025. Through Aug. 18 of this year, police had documented another 75. Of the 166 aggravated assaults since the start of 2025, 100 remain unsolved, according to city statistics.
During that 20 1/2-month period, firearm assaults resulted in a combined 47 people killed or injured.
Why some victims don’t talk
Zuidema said police often face a major obstacle: victims and witnesses who refuse to cooperate.
The chief said some shooting victims decline to provide information because they fear retaliation or worry that cooperating with police could expose their own criminal activity.
“We’ve been told many times, ‘We aren’t telling you anything. We aren’t going to share anything with you. We’ll take care of it ourselves,’” Zuidema said. “That’s obviously not what we want. We want to investigate thoroughly, place appropriate charges and successfully prosecute those folks that are out committing these types of acts.”
He said investigators sometimes encounter situations in which people involved in criminal activity become victims of violence but are unwilling to explain what led to the shooting.
One of the year’s most publicized shootings occurred March 8 in a downtown parking deck on Market Street, where law enforcement officers shot and killed 21-year-old Edilberto Espinoza Sierra of Willard.
Authorities said officers were trying to locate a suspect wanted in connection with another shooting when Sierra failed to comply with commands to stop and exit the vehicle he was driving.
District Attorney Jason Smith said seven officers fired 62 shots during the encounter. Following an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Smith concluded the officers’ use of force was justified, and no charges were filed.
And the violence continues
Gun violence cases have continued since the city’s Aug. 18 reporting period ended.
A 14-year-old boy died from injuries suffered in a Sept. 8 shooting in the area of South Fifth Avenue and Dawson Street. Wilmington police have not announced an arrest, and department spokesperson Brandon Shope said he had no update on the investigation.
In another recent case, police said Rodney Wilson fired at officers responding to a disturbance Aug. 21 in the 700 block of Red Cross Street. According to a department news release, officers returned fire after Wilson allegedly pointed a gun at another person and acted aggressively before shooting at police.
Wilson was reported in stable condition and receiving treatment at a hospital. The officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department policy while the State Bureau of Investigation conducts its review.
Despite the recent increase in firearm-related homicides, Zuidema said Wilmington remains a safe city overall.
“What I would tell you is, overall, Wilmington is a very safe community,” he said. “We certainly have pockets of violent crime from either time to time or in certain locations.”
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington fatal shootings rise while overall crime is down | Exclusive
