Police searching for gunman after man killed, woman injured in Hickory shooting

HICKORY, N.C. (WBTV) - A mystery is unfolding in Catawba County as a husband and wife were shot in Hickory this past weekend, and the person who did it is still on the loose.

Joy Tucker and her husband, Prosper, were both hit with gunfire in front of their home along 14th Avenue Drive Southwest on Saturday morning.

She is recovering tonight, but her husband didn’t survive. He died due to his injuries on Tuesday.

It’s been nearly a week and no arrests have been made in the case. When the shooting started, no one was able to get a good look at the person behind the gun.

“I don’t really know how to feel at the moment in time,” relative Ricky Hoover said.

Hoover has been checking his sister’s property and making their dogs are taken care of. He also cleaned out the shattered glass from her truck after the shots broke out Saturday morning.

Hickory police said Tucker and her husband had been coming home from an outing when they stopped their truck in the driveway and the shooting started. Joy was hit and received a minor injury to her knee. Prosper’s injuries were much more severe. He was rushed to two area hospitals but wasn’t able to survive.

“Just kind of in shock,” Hoover said regarding his reaction to the situation. “Just kind of ridiculous how things went down.”

The damage done to the property was nothing compared to what kind of damage was done to their family.

“We’re just going to keep moving, keep pushing forward,” Hoover said. “We’re not going to let anything stop us.”

Meanwhile, neighbors were shocked to learn of the incident. Fitzgerald Hester has lived in the area for the past five decades and was stunned after hearing the news.

“It’s always been a quiet neighborhood,” he said. “It seems like it’s getting worse. It’s the time we’re living in now.”

Police are spending plenty of resources in hopes of solving the case, but Hoover said his sister didn’t see the shooter or where the shots were even coming from.

Charles Schenck lives in the area and said the news is worrisome.

“It scares me about my family,” he said.

Courtney Harman heard about what happened this morning, and said her heart goes out to the family.

“We’ll be praying for them,” she said. “I hope they find out who did it.”

The victims’ family hopes for the same.

“Justice will be served, you hear me? Justice will be served,” Hoover said.

Anyone who knows anything about the case is asked to call investigators immediately.

Related: Man dies days after shooting at Hickory home, police say

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