ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Asheville’s interim police chief refused Thursday to label a deadly mass shooting that left two dead and seven injured as “gang violence,” instead using carefully worded descriptions of “groups of individuals who know one another” engaged in “ongoing retaliatory acts.”
The July 19 attack on Biltmore Avenue outside Dalton’s Distillery and a nearby parking lot involved 25 to 30 gunshots fired from a vehicle in what police now confirm was direct retaliation for a July 5 shooting at Maple Crest apartments. Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp told reporters the Biltmore Avenue incident is “the latest chapter in an ongoing pattern of retaliatory violence.”
When pressed directly on whether the violence involved gangs, Stepp declined the term. “These are groups again that are committing acts of violence against one another,” she said, emphasizing ties between people who know each other rather than organized criminal groups.
The carefully chosen language has fueled sharp criticism from local residents who say the department is deliberately downplaying the racial and gang dimensions of the violence.
Demographic and crime data: Black residents make up roughly 8 to 9 percent of Asheville’s population, yet FBI figures from 2020 showed Black suspects accounted for 82 percent of the city’s murders. Recent Census estimates put Asheville’s Black population between 8.1 and 9.7 percent, confirming the small share relative to the overall population of about 94,000.
Police have identified several persons of interest but have released no names, photographs, or racial descriptions of the suspects in the mass shooting. Investigators recovered a firearm equipped with an illegal “Glock switch” that converts a handgun into a machine gun. No arrests have been announced in the Biltmore Avenue case.
The reluctance to use plain language comes as Asheville continues to struggle with elevated violent crime rates. FBI data for 2024 showed the city recording 12 murders and a violent crime rate well above national averages. Residents and business owners downtown have expressed growing frustration over repeated shootings in entertainment districts.
City leaders, including Mayor Esther Manheimer, have urged calm and cooperation with investigators while stressing that the victims included young men who were “innocent bystanders.” Police continue to ask the public for tips as the investigation remains active.
Critics argue that refusing to acknowledge the obvious patterns in retaliatory gun violence only makes the problem harder to solve. As one resident put it in reaction to the press conference video: “Just tell the truth.”
