Stephen Addison was a military veteran and father who was shot and killed by a North Carolina man at a stoplight, police say.
According to a statement from the Fayetteville Police department, the victim “has been identified as Stephen Addison (B/M, 32) of the 3700 blk of Alson Rd.”
The suspect is Roger Dale Nobles Sr. Graphic video showed Addison being shot as he spoke with Nobles’ son, Roger Dale Nobles Jr., who has not been charged in the death.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Addison Was a Married Father & Military Veteran Whose Kids ‘Adored & Looked Up to Him’
Loved ones wrote tributes to Addision on social media.
Summer Hemphill wrote on Facebook, sharing photos of Addison with his kids: “This is STEPHEN ADDISON. A Veteran, Father, Husband & a VICTIM. My nieces & nephew will no longer be able to hug, learn from, or hear their father’s voice for the rest of their lives💔 My sister has to raise their kids without her husband! Lord give our family the strength🙏🏽”
She also wrote, “My nephew, nieces & my big sis need all the love, strength & prayers. His kids adored & looked up to him. He was taken wayyyy too soon & UNJUSTLY! 🥺🙏🏽♥️”
Benjamin Smith wrote on Facebook, “Man it’s with a heavy heart that I got to say goodbye to one of my closest friends. My little brother from another mother Stephen addison a.k.a. tray pound! He was shot and killed in Fayetteville, North Carolina in a road rage incident by a racist coward in 2022!!!! 😮💨😖😡 your legacy and life will live on!!! Rest well lil bro!!!”
2. Addison’s Wife Called the Shooting a ‘Bad Dream’ & Says His Family Only Has ‘Memories’ Left
Justina Hemphill, Addison’s wife, told CBS17: “I just pinch myself hoping I’ll wake up from this bad dream,” she said.
She told WRAL-TV: “Stephen was a great guy. People always say someone lit up a room. My husband lit up every room he went into.” She said he used to be a soldier at Fort Bragg and lived near where he was shot. “[He was] a loving, caring guy for anybody. He stayed out the way [and] was never in anybody’s business,” said Justin Cockrell, a friend of Addison’s, to WRAl.
He has three children, including one who is only 3-years-old, WRAL-TV reported.
“He has kids here now who have to go the rest of their lives without their dad. All we have left is the memories and the pictures. That’s it,” his wife said to CBS17.
3. The District Attorney Is Considering a Hate Crime Charge
FacebookRoger Dale Nobles Jr. and Sr.
Detectives are “requesting anyone with cellphone or dashcam videos to please contact the detective listed…Detective J. Nevitt at (910) 703-3499 or Crimestoppers at p3tips.com,” police wrote.
They gave this account of the slaying:
On January 3, 2022, at 12:31 pm, #FayPD officers were dispatched to a reported shooting along Skibo Road at Cliffdale Road. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male that had been shot. The preliminary investigation has revealed a driver of a truck was engaged in a disturbance with a driver of a motorcycle resulting in the motorcyclist being shot by the suspect. The suspect fled the scene prior to police arrival. The victim was transported to a local hospital but has succumbed to his injuries; his identification is pending next of kin notification.
It’s not clear what the disturbance was about or how it started. WRAL-TV described the slaying as a “road rage confrontation” and said that Nobles Jr. was the truck’s driver. The father-and-son are white, according to the station.
4. Addison Worked as an Account Executive in California & Performed HVAC Duties for the U.S. Army
An old LinkedIn page says Addison worked as an account executive for Logistics America in Irvine California for six months in 2015. “Expected to Create and maintain strong relationships with clients as well as carriers, find authorized and reliable transportation carriers for clients,” he wrote.
He also worked as an HVAC Engineer in Yorba Linda California, as a customer accounts manager for Aaron’s Inc. in Buffalo, New York, as a warehouse manager for GENCO, and as a “92y supply sergeant” in the US Army.
“Primary duties were inspect and repair air conditioner electrical systems, air conditioner vapor systems, refrigeration unit electrical systems, portable heater fuel/electrical systems, fire extinguisher recharging systems and fire extinguishers/valves. Also required to perform maintenance on bottle cleaning/charging stations,” he wrote.
He had an associate’s degree in business administration and management from ITT Technical Institute-Orange and training in HVAC from USASE Untied States Army School of Engineers.
5. Graphic Video Shows the Shooting of Addison
WRAL-TV spoke to analysts about a six-second video that emerged from the scene. You can watch the video here, but be aware that it’s very disturbing. It shows Nobles Jr. approaching Addison when Addison is shot.
The video shows Nobles’ son, Roger Dale Nobles Jr., “get out of the truck and argue with Addison before his father fires a shotgun from the truck’s driver’s seat,” the television station reported.
Anthony Waddy, an analyst with SAV Consulting, told the television station that Nobles Jr.’s “body language shows that he played a key role in the shooting.”
“Where he’s actually standing in reference to, what we call in the military, a fatal funnel,” he said. “He’s clearly out of harm’s way,” Waddy claimed to WRAL-TV.
Waddy told the television station it “appears that Nobles Jr. anticipated the shooting and cleared a path for his father to fire shots.” But a defense attorney told the station that it probably wasn’t enough to charge the son unless it could be proven he knew his father was going to shoot Addison.
FacebookRoger Dale Nobles Jr
A neighbor, Shahara Chance, told WRAL News that “she’s had problems with Nobles for years, and that he has used a racial slur against her.”
“He done drove in my yard and took pictures of me on my porch. He’s shot his gun in the air telling me to turn my music down. I done been through hell with this man,” Chance said to the station.
On Facebook, Roger Dale Nobles Jr. has a confederate flag as his cover photo. His profile picture says, “I stand for the flag. I kneel at the cross.”
FacebookRoger Nobles Jr
.
He wrote of his dad three years ago, “I want to wish a very special happy birthday to my dad he’s always been there for me and he always will happy Birthday Dad hope you have a great day. Another graphic read, “The problem isn’t guns. It’s hearts without God and Homes without discipline.”
READ NEXT: OnlyFans Model Accused of Stabbing Boyfriend