A newly married North Carolina groom was fatally shot in front of his bride and daughter just hours after the wedding ceremony, his family says.
Tyrek Burton, 37, had tied the knot with his bride, Kiara Holloway, on Oct. 12 at the Barber Park Events Center in Greensboro. But the momentous occasion ended in tragedy when hours later, just before 9 p.m., Greensboro police responded to the scene on a report of a shooting.
Officers found Burton injured in the parking area. Life saving efforts were performed, but Burton succumbed to his injuries that night.
Burton’s sister, Brittany Burton, told reporters that someone had followed Burton into the parking lot of the venue alleging that Burton was involved in a traffic incident, and opened fire.
“He pulled up and did that right where they got married,” she said, noting he was shot several times in the chest.
Greensboro Police said in a news release dated Oct. 14 that there were no details about any possible suspects or motive. Police did not respond to an NBC News request for more details Friday.
“We need help. If anybody knows anything, speak up. Cause if he’s still out there, you could be next. Somebody’s that’s so cold that they have to gun down a man in front of a woman in a wedding dress, a child, a teenager, he needs to be put away,” Burton's mother, Carolyn Burton, told reporters.
The mother said her son and Kiara had been married for just seven hours.
“I demand justice, I demand it, and I don’t want to wait years for it,” she said. “He don’t deserve what he got. He waited 13 years to get his bride and soon as he gets his bride, he can’t even take her home.”
Nysheria Holloway, Kiara’s sister, told NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh, that the newlyweds had been together for 16 years and had four daughters.
“Why on the wedding day? Why him? Just why, why, why?” Holloway told WRAL. “He was a great man. He loved to spend time with his family, his kids. He was a working man.”
An online fundraiser has been made to support the Burton's family.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.