Juvenile suspect dies after self-inflicted shooting; AB Tech student William Adair identified as victim

William Wyatt Adair, a 20-year-old Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College student, was shot and killed in the early hours of Monday, March 9, on Patton Avenue near New Leicester Highway, and the juvenile suspect who shot himself in the head moments later at the scene has since died of those self-inflicted injuries, the Asheville Police Department announced in a March 12 news release.

Officers responded around 1:04 a.m. after receiving reports of a gunshot wound victim. When they arrived, they found Adair dead at the scene. Patrol officers immediately canvassed the area and located a suspect on New Leicester Highway. Before officers could take him into custody, the suspect produced a handgun and shot himself in the head. He was transported to Mission Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. APD confirmed in its Thursday news release that the juvenile suspect had since died of self-inflicted injuries. The suspect has not been publicly identified, and juvenile privacy laws are expected to restrict the release of his name.

APD classified Adair's death as the second homicide of the year in Asheville. The killing was also part of a violent stretch that 828newsNOW described as the third shooting incident in the city in as many days. A WLOS gallery documented three separate shootings over that same weekend leaving two dead and nine injured across Asheville.

A spokesperson identified by Foxchattanooga as Silberman reflected on the toll of those days. "These are both awful tragedies for both of those families," Silberman said. "Both of these were young men who still had a lot of life left to live." Silberman added that the violence fit a familiar calendar pattern: "Unfortunately, violent crime starts to rise right about this time of year after a seasonal lull." Despite the volume of incidents, Silberman said the department kept its full staffing engaged throughout the weekend. "Our patrol team didn't slow down or relax at all. We had nearly all of our investigative staff working on these cases at one point or another."

The violence drew concern from people working and staying near the Patton Avenue corridor. A community member identified as Cagle told Foxchattanooga the proximity was unsettling. "It's scary, especially where I work and how close it happened. I haven't heard of violence like that in a while." Cagle said news of weekend violence could suppress Asheville's tourism-driven economy: "Had I heard something like that a week before coming here, I probably would have canceled my hotel and gone somewhere else." She called for a more visible police presence along the retail stretch nearby. "I think they have to do something with more presence. There are a lot of small shops on North Lexington that could be affected by something like this."

Detectives and forensic technicians remain active in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call APD at (828) 252-1110, text TIP2APD to 847411, or submit an anonymous tip through the TIP2APD smartphone application, available by searching "Asheville PD" in any app store.