Warrants Say Bullets That Killed Wake Forest Educator Targeted Relative

Warrants reviewed by investigators allege the gunfire that ultimately killed Ericka Ruffin Lucas was aimed at a relative who was at the same Wake Forest home. Lucas, 56, a former teacher and Rolesville High principal and the wife of a Wake Forest High School football coach, was found with a gunshot wound to the chest and died Sept. 9, 2025.

According to search warrants reviewed by The News & Observer, officers were called just before 6 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2025, after multiple callers reported a shooting at a residence in the 600 block of East Nelson Avenue. Warrants describe about 10 people on and around the front porch when shots rang out and say an 18-year-old nephew “was hiding around the corner of the house” when witnesses saw two people standing at a nearby intersection and then open fire.

The warrants identify one of the people seen by witnesses as Dexter Lamont Mills and reference another person only by the surname Smith. Warrants say family members saw Smith and Mills fire at the house. Investigators recovered multiple shell casings at the intersection and on the ground where the nephew had been standing. Lucas was discovered inside the home as family members were “desperately trying to save her,” the warrant wording states.

Wake Forest police have said Lucas “was not the target of the shooting and was struck by gunfire meant for someone else on East Nelson Avenue.” Detectives who followed up on the scene learned of a history of issues between the nephew and the two people named in the warrant, and investigators have theorized the suspects intended to shoot the nephew. Police say the incident was not a drive-by shooting.

On Sept. 9 police charged 18-year-old Dexter Lamont Mills and an unnamed 16-year-old with murder. At the time of his arrest, Mills had a stolen firearm in his possession. Prosecutors noted it is not yet clear whether that recovered gun fired the shot that killed Lucas. Court reporting said, “Mills waved to his family in the courtroom Wednesday afternoon as a judge read out the charge: First-degree murder.”

Several factual questions remain open as the investigation continues. Warrants are the primary source for the scene details, the person named Smith has not been fully identified in public reports, and officials have not announced a forensic link between the stolen gun and the fatal shot. Wake Forest police ask anyone with information to call 919-435-9610.

The case has put a spotlight on violence affecting families in North Wake and on the need for clear information from law enforcement as criminal proceedings move forward. For residents, the immediate concerns are accountability and public safety: prosecutors will pursue forensic testing and court hearings, and the community can expect further updates as investigators work to resolve the outstanding forensic and identity questions.