Mayor says city will press housing authority after Marcy Boulevard shootings, warns contract could be voided

The mayor opened the meeting by describing a violent shooting on Marcy Boulevard that left three people seriously injured and said police have arrested a suspect. He told the council the victims and the suspect were not residents of the affected complex, which the mayor said would violate the housing authority lease, and said the city will meet with East Carolina Regional Housing Authority the following day to press for changes.

"If we don't make some progress tomorrow, that contract will be voided," the mayor said, urging the authority to "clean these facilities up, monitor them and be good citizens or else" to protect public safety. He said the city currently has a contract to provide supplemental police services to the authority-managed sites but that the city would consider other actions if improvements are not forthcoming.

The mayor identified the affected property as managed by East Carolina Regional Housing Authority and listed other properties the authority manages, including Dogwood Circle, Sampson Homes and Byron Butler Court. He said the facility in question is east over Terrace and stressed the city will "drill into this" and raise a "very, very high level of frustration" with the authority if the conditions are not improved.

The council did not take a formal vote on any policy at the meeting. The mayor said the police chief and the housing authority manager are scheduled to meet with city officials the next day and pledged to keep the public informed as the city pursues follow-up.

The council later continued with its agenda, leaving the planned meeting with the housing authority as the immediate next step described by the mayor.