Halifax County shooting victim remains critical as deputies seek Harrison

Two days after a convenience-store shooting outside Roanoke Rapids left a person critically injured, Halifax County deputies were still seeking the man accused in the attack. The latest October 21 reporting described Rayvon Bennie Harrison, 22, as wanted on an arrest warrant and the victim as remaining in critical condition. Neither an arrest nor an improvement in the victim’s condition has been established in the available accounts. ²

The shooting happened Monday, October 19, 2026, at a convenience store on North Carolina Highway 48 near Rhea Smith Road. That places it outside Roanoke Rapids, in Halifax County; the reports do not identify the business by name or give a numbered street address. Officials have not described what led to the gunfire. ^{3 1}

The immediate public-safety instruction is clear: sheriff’s officials say Harrison should be considered armed and dangerous, and people should not approach him. Anyone who sees him should contact local law enforcement immediately. Officials also believe he is evading law enforcement. Those are the agency’s assessments, not independently established information about his current location or whether he currently has a weapon. ^{1 2}

Investigators say interviews and other leads gave them probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant for Harrison. WCTI reports the alleged offense as assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. The published account does not describe the interviews or the other evidence underlying that determination. ¹

The distinction between an accusation and a finding matters here. The warrant is the reported legal basis for seeking Harrison’s arrest; it does not establish that he committed the shooting or intended to kill anyone. No conviction has been established in this case.

The search did not begin with the October 21 news reports. RRSpin had reported by October 20 that detectives had obtained warrants and were seeking Harrison. The actual issuance date has not been established. That chronology makes this an ongoing search following a shooting earlier in the same week, rather than a newly announced warrant for an established older incident. ^{4 3}

The number of counts also remains unconfirmed. WCTI gives the full assault-offense wording, while WRAL describes assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflicting serious injury. Without the warrant itself or a case-specific court record, those wording differences should not be used to turn the reported allegation into a count of separate charges. ^{1 2}

The person who was shot was reported in critical condition as of Tuesday, October 20, according to WCTI. WRAL’s later October 21 account continued to describe the victim as critical. That is the latest reported condition, but neither account supplies a hospital statement or a precise time for the medical assessment. ^{1 2}

The victim has not been identified in the available reports, and no prognosis has been established. The critical-condition reports therefore should not be read as evidence of recovery—or of deterioration beyond what officials have said. The shooting’s exact time and the circumstances surrounding it also remain unestablished. ^{1 2}

For information about the shooting or Harrison’s whereabouts, the published investigative contact is Detective Sergeant M. Hasty at 252-554-9733. WCTI also lists Halifax County Crime Stoppers at 252-583-4444 and the P3tips service as channels for submitting information. Those channels allow the public to pass along information without approaching a person deputies have warned may be dangerous. ¹