Brookhaven police are trying to determine if there’s a connection between a fatal shooting Monday and another that took place the day before.
Police Chief Bobby Bell said officers went to a house at 402 Vivian Meritt St. around 11:48 p.m. Monday to investigate what sounded like gunshots.
Upon arrival, officers found the homeowner, Bridgett Hall, 43, lying on the floor inside the house, where she was pronounced dead by Lincoln County Coroner Clay McMorris.
“The only thing we know is a young lady got killed,” Bell said. “Right now we don’t know motives or anything like that.”
Bell said he couldn’t tell where Hall was shot, but officers found shell casings that had apparently been fired from a handgun.
He said he was unable to say if Hall had suffered one or multiple gunshot wounds.
Deputy Coroner John Riggs said that when he first saw Hall, he noticed blood stains on her shirt and skirt, but did not lift any of the clothing for fear of disturbing evidence.
“I left everything for the (medical examiner),” he said.
Bell said Hall was not alone in the home when the shooting occurred. She was accompanied by a child, whose age and relationship to her is unknown, and people were outside.
“You know, it’s one of those situations where we’re going to have to follow from the ground up,” he said. “We have witnesses who’ve helped us as much as they could, but it’s still not what we need right now.”
Riggs said the child may have witnessed the shooting.
Bell said he has no proof to indicate that this shooting is related to the Sunday night shooting that claimed the life of Kelcay Humphrey, 25.
Police have charged Claude Montgomery in that case.
Hall apparently is dating Montgomery’s brother, Claudis Montgomery.
Bell said it’s possible Hall and Humphrey knew each other, but he has no proof of that.
“As a law enforcement officer we have to look at all angles,” he said. “You hear rumors that it may be related to the other shooting, and we can’t count anything out. We can’t throw anything away.”
Bell said a preliminary investigation didn’t yield any signs of a scuffle in the home.
