Lumberton family mourns man killed in Sept. 27 shooting

LUMBERTON, Miss. (WDAM) - A Lumberton family is mourning a man killed in a Sept. 27 shooting.

Kendrick Holder Jr., 32, was found dead at a property in the 900-block of Myrick Avenue in Lumberton.

Authorities ruled Holder’s death a homicide. No arrests have been made.

Since that Wednesday night, the family has yet to receive any clear details on what exactly happened.

“He left home about 10 (p.m.).,” said Corey Mackey, Holder’s uncle. “We didn’t know anything that he was found about 1-1:30 in the morning. But between 10 o’clock and his body being laid on the ground here, no one knows what happened between that.

“We haven’t gotten any answers yet.”

Mackey said since Holder’s death, they’ve tried to look back only on the happy memories, trading tears for laughter.

He said this is the way his nephew would have wanted it.

“We often times just sit around and joke about some of the things he did as a child, some of the stuff he’s done as an adult,” said Mackey. “We know that he always would smile, so we tell a lot of jokes to keep his memory alive.”

Holder’s girlfriend, Chelsea Bates, said Holder was a great father, and that she’s taking grief one day at a time.

Bates said she wishes someone in the tight-knit community would speak up about what happened.

“This city is small. It’s very small,” said Bates. “Someone knows what happened, and they’re not talking.”

Lumberton Mayor Quincy Rogers said he knew Holder all his life, and that his death — the third in the area in less than a year — should be a wake-up call.

“As people, as residents, as citizens, we have to take our city back,” said Rogers. “We’re wiping out our own existence right here, and it has to stop.”

Anyone with any information regarding this case, please contact the Lumberton Police Department at (601) 796-7001.

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