Dad accused of killing teen son, 2 other relatives in shooting at NC shopping center

Simone Jasper
·2 min read

A 13-year-old was among three family members killed when his dad opened fire at a North Carolina shopping center, officials said.

The teenager’s dad is also accused of shooting his own mother and sister to death over the weekend when he fired into a vehicle that had people inside it, according to the Wilmington Police Department.

Now, the man — identified as 40-year-old Wilbert Lamont Robinson — is charged with murder. Police in a news release didn’t share attorney information for him.

Wilmington officers responded to a report of shots fired on Saturday, Jan. 15. A possible suspect was taken to a hospital for a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” which he survived, chief of police Donny Williams said in a video posted to his department’s Facebook page.

The shooting reportedly happened at the Landfall Shopping Center, east of the Wilmington Riverwalk.

“Three people from Hampstead were tragically killed after a man opened fire on them in the vehicle ...” officials said in their news release. “From a preliminary investigation, it appears that the suspect and victims arrived in the same vehicle together prior to the shooting.”

Police didn’t name the 13-year-old but identified the other deceased relatives as:

  • Diretta Marie Robinson, 65, the suspect’s mom

  • Trina Lynnette Robinson, 48, the suspect’s sister

“I can’t even believe it,” Michaela Robinson, daughter of Trina Robinson, told WECT. “She was giving and caring. She loved her family more than anything.”

Gail Durant, niece of Diretta Robinson, said she was known as the family’s matriarch. Her cousin, the 13-year-old-boy, is remembered as a middle school student who enjoyed playing on his Xbox, the TV station reported.

“He was the sweetest kid you’d ever meet, he was always smiling and respectful,” Durant told WECT.

As of Jan. 16, police said there wasn’t a clear motive in the shooting. Anyone who saw the incident is asked to call 910-343-3609.

After the shooting, Robinson faced three counts of first-degree murder and firing into an occupied vehicle.

15-year-old dies after his dad, a police officer, accidentally shoots him, NC cops say

Sleeping 10-year-old shot when bullets fired toward North Carolina home, police say