BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Playback58@gmail.com

BOYKINS—Authorities gave no motive for the Sunday shooting of a 23-year-old man in Boykins, but a witness heard it was done in retaliation.

“I heard it was a revenge shooting,” said nearby resident Morris Falkins. “The guy who was shot was not involved, but an innocent bystander.”

The victim was shot in the leg at 7 p.m. in a parking lot at Beaton Avenue and White Street next to Boykins Service Center, said Jody Brown, spokeswoman for the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office. Brown did not identify the victim, who suffered non-life threatening injuries and was not taken to the hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office reported that a white Buick, green Dodge Neon and a white vehicle with 30-day temporary tags were allegedly involved.

Brown would not say if authorities had any suspects.

Falkins said Monday that he and his family were on the porch of their home at the time of the shooting.

“I heard rapid gunfire, and got everyone in the house,” Falkins said. “I heard someone say, ‘A guy shot me in my leg.’”

He understood that the assailants came from Southampton Meadows Mobile Home Park on Route 258 between Franklin and the North Carolina line.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 653-2100.