GARNER, N.C. — The owner of Lizard Lick Towing confirmed Friday via social media that his 21-year-old son was killed in a Thursday night shooting in North Carolina.
In a Facebook post, Ronnie Shirley wrote a brief message to his son Harley Alexander Shirley, identified as the victim of the shooting in a news release issued by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
“He’s at peace now — waiting on the rest of us to arrive at those gates — we will be there soon Big Shur — and will always cherish the times we had while you were with us son,” Ronnie Shirley wrote.
The elder Shirley’s towing and repossession business near Wendell was chronicled in the aptly named “Lizard Lick Towing” reality show, which aired on TruTV from 2011 to 2014, The News & Observer reported.
The shooting occurred during a memorial balloon release honoring Xavier Smith, who was killed in a crash earlier in the week, WRAL reported.
The family told the TV station that the shooting took place on the front lawn and then several men jumped into a car and drove away. A second call then alerted deputies to shooting victims in a parking lot about three miles from the residence, and investigators determined the two calls were related.
Harley Shirley was pronounced dead on the scene, while a 20-year-old woman, whose name has not been released publicly, was transported to an area hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries, WRAL reported.
Meanwhile, Jason Shirley, the uncle of Harley Shirley, told WRAL on Friday that he is offering a $25,000 reward for information regarding his nephew’s death.