WINTERVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - There are new charges against a man police say was caught recording a female shopper in a retail store in Eastern Carolina. Law enforcement says he is now accused of the same crime at a Pitt County Church.

New technology makes it easy to discretely capture audio and video, but law enforcement says there are ways you can avoid situations like what happened in the Greenville Target earlier this week.

On Thursday, the Winterville Police Department says it charged Thomas Elliott with one count of felony secret peeping for a crime on March 13th at Opendoor Church.

The church says the 21-year-old is a former staff member.

Corporal Kelly Cox with the Craven County Sheriff’s Office says no matter where you are, it’s always important to be aware of your surroundings.

“When they’re going from point A to point B, whether it’s a store to the parking lot to their car, you scan your environment, you try to pick up on things. You have what I call the spider-sense, you have those hairs on the back of your neck, they’re there for a reason,” says Cox.

Elliott faces numerous charges after a woman recorded him putting his phone on the ground under another woman’s skirt at the Greenville Target on Monday.

In a statement, Opendoor Church said the victim is an employee.

It reads in part, “We are grateful for our local law enforcement and justice system and continue to work closely with them.”

In total, police say they have identified three separate victims at Target.

Elliott has been charged with a total of six counts of secret peeping.

Corporal Cox encourages all citizens to apply the ‘run, hide, fight scenario’ when away from home.

“If you see the threat and you can get away from the threat safely, run away. If there’s something between you and the threat, hide. And if you are going to have to face that threat head on, I don’t care if you are a 275 pound man or a an 80 pound woman, you need to fight like your life depends on it,” says Cox.

Greenville police spokesperson Kristen Hunter said Elliott was booked back into Pitt County Detention Center under a $10,000 bond.

A Pitt County School spokesperson confirmed Elliott was also a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School in Greenville but has been removed from that position.

LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A 12-year-old boy was killed Thursday night after he was accidentally shot by his sibling, according to officials in one Eastern Carolina County.

This is the third accidental shooting involving children in Lenoir County this year.

According to Lenoir County Schools officials, Za’dok Clark was the boy who, according to the sheriff’s office, was shot in his chest by his sibling.

Deputies were called around 7:00 pm to a home northwest of Kinston.

“Our deputies arrived on the scene first, and they performed CPR. Then EMS arrived, and they performed CPR for about 45 minutes,” said Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers.

After the lifesaving measures, Za’dok Clark was pronounced dead.

“It’s horrible. We’re losing a generation to gun violence, and it doesn’t have to be this way. We have a real problem with unsecured guns in our state,” said Becky Ceartas, the Executive Director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.

On January 5th, a teenager was shot by their toddler sibling and recovered. Nine days later, a three-year-old boy was killed when he shot himself with a handgun.

“If you got guns in the house or go outside shooting or anything, you need to practice gun safety, I encourage you to take a course on gun safety, especially around kids,” said Sheriff Jackie Rogers.

Ceartas says lawmakers need to take action to help keep guns locked up and out of the wrong hands.

“Guns are now the leading cause of injury death for kids in North Carolina. We want to emphasize to members of the General Assembly that they need to do everything they can to protect our kids,” said Ceatas.

Right now, this case is still under investigation, and it’s unknown if anyone will face charges.

A spokesperson for Lenoir County Public Schools says Clark was a student at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 school. Their crisis management team was available Friday to offer counseling and support.

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) -The military communities in Eastern Carolina are truly special but it can sometimes be easy to forget the outstanding children, who wear the title of being a military child.

A national non-profit looking to recognize exceptional military children, recently selected eight teens from our state as semifinalists for the annual Military Child of the Year award.

It was an evening of prestige for eight North Carolina military children at Jacksonville City Hall Friday as they were honored for being military child of the year semifinalists.

The Military Child of the Year award sponsored by Operation Homefront is aimed to acknowledge the hard work of many military children.

Some from the east at Friday’s ceremony spoke about the sacrifices made by their parents for them to be a semifinalist.

“I never felt like my dad left me, I knew what he was doing was super important,” said Military Child of the Year semifinalist, Brynlee Nodurft.

“Coming from a Hispanic background, my dad joined the military to help with all of our family problems, making sure all of us were set for our futures,” said Military Child of the Year semifinalist, Izel Bernal.

Every year, many apply with hopes of becoming the next Military Child of the Year award recipient.

This year, 96 semifinalists were selected and these eight recipients were the only ones chosen from North Carolina as they represent the branch of the military in which their parent serves.

Several of the semifinalists say being a military child isn’t always the easiest thing to do but they say as you get older, you understand and appreciate the responsibility the title holds.

“I’m just a small representation of all the military children around the world,” Nodurft said. “I’m just glad that I can represent all of us.”

“Definitely on the resumes that I’ve had, military child semifinalist has to be up there,” Bernal said. “It’s a different perspective because a lot of people just have academic things now, I have something in my life that I can showcase.”

In all, there were seven national winners, each representing a branch of the military.

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WITN) - A non-profit group run by firefighters and police officers in one Eastern Carolina county says they raised a record amount of money for a toddler with cancer.

Crystal Coast Boots ‘N Badges raised $48,300 for Tucker Honeycutt’s family with two events last Saturday.

The group is made up of Morehead City Fire-EMS and Police employees and members of the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office.

The group held its seventh Boots ‘N Badges softball game and the third annual benefit ride on April 13th.

Tucker is fighting Medulloblastoma and is undergoing treatment at Duke Cancer Institute. His father, Chad Tucker, is a Carteret County sheriff’s deputy.

Committee members traveled to Duke earlier today to present the check to Tucker’s family.

NEW YORK (AP) — The final jurors were seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, and an appellate judge rejected the former president’s latest bid to halt the case as a hectic day in court set the stage for opening statements to begin Monday.

The panel of New Yorkers who will decide the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president took final shape after lawyers spent days quizzing dozens of potential jurors on whether they can impartially judge Trump in the city where he built his real estate empire before being elected in 2016.

The trial thrusts Trump’s legal problems into the heart of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden, with Trump’s opponent likely to seize on unflattering and salacious testimony to make the case that the presumptive Republican nominee is unfit to return as commander in chief.

Trump, meanwhile, is using the prosecution as a political rallying cry, casting himself as a victim while juggling his dual role as criminal defendant and presidential candidate.

Judge Juan Merchan said lawyers will present opening statements Monday morning before prosecutors begin laying out their case alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories Trump feared would hurt his 2016 campaign. He has pleaded not guilty and says the stories were false.

Despite the failure of repeated previous attempts to delay the trial, a Trump attorney was in an appeals court hours after the jury was seated, arguing that Merchan rushed through jury selection and that Trump cannot get a fair trial in Manhattan.

“To think an impartial jury could be found in that period of time, I would respectfully submit, is untenable,” attorney Clifford Robert said.

Justice Marsha Michael denied the request just minutes after a brief hearing.

Back in the trial court, Merchan expressed frustration as Trump’s lawyers pressed to revisit a litany of pretrial rulings.

“At some point, you need to accept the court’s rulings,” Merchan said. “There’s nothing else to clarify. There’s nothing else to reargue. We’re going to have opening statements on Monday morning. This trial is starting.”

Just after the jury was seated, emergency crews responded to a park outside the courthouse, where a man had set himself on fire. The man took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories and spread them around the park before dousing himself in a flammable substance and setting himself aflame, officials said. He was in critical condition Friday afternoon.

Trump has spent the week sitting quietly in the courtroom as lawyers pressed potential jurors on their views about him in a search for any bias that would preclude them from hearing the case. During breaks in the proceedings, he has railed against the case on social media or to TV cameras in the hallway, calling it a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

“This Trial is a Long, Rigged, Endurance Contest, dealing with Nasty, Crooked People, who want to DESTROY OUR COUNTRY,” he wrote Friday on social media.

Over five days of jury selection, dozens of people were dismissed from the jury pool after saying they didn’t believe they could be fair. Others expressed anxiety about having to decide such a consequential case with outsized media attention, even though the judge has ruled that jurors’ names will be known only to prosecutors, Trump and their legal teams.

One woman who had been chosen to serve on the jury was dismissed Thursday after she raised concerns over messages she said she got from friends and family when aspects of her identity became public. On Friday, another woman broke down in tears while being questioned by a prosecutor about her ability to decide the case based only on evidence presented in court.

“I feel so nervous and anxious right now,” the woman said. “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t want someone who feels like this to judge my case either. I don’t want to waste the court’s time.”

As more potential jurors were questioned Friday, Trump appeared to lean over at the defense table, scribbling on some papers and exchanging notes with one of his lawyers. He occasionally perked up and gazed at the jury box, including when one would-be juror said he had volunteered in a “get out the vote” effort for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. That man was later excused.

Trump spoke to reporters before Friday’s proceedings got underway, lambasting a gag order that prosecutors have accused him of violating. Merchan has scheduled arguments for next week on prosecutors’ request to hold Trump in contempt of court and fine him for social media posts they say defy limits on what he can say about potential witnesses.

“The gag order has to come off. People are allowed to speak about me, and I have a gag order,” Trump said.

Merchan also heard arguments Friday on prosecutors’ request to bring up Trump’s prior legal entanglements if he takes the witness stand in the hush money case. Trump has said he wants to testify, but he is not required to and can always change his mind.

Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about, among other cases, his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict. Merchan said he would rule on the matter in the coming days.

The trial centers on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.

Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted, though it’s not clear that the judge would opt to put him behind bars. Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.

Trump is involved in four criminal cases, but it’s not clear that any others will reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have caused delays in the other three cases charging Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results and with illegally hoarding classified documents.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central Iran, signaling the two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full-blown regional war.

But the indecisive outcome of weeks of tensions — which included an alleged Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals, an unprecedented Iranian missile barrage on Israel and the apparent Israeli strike early Friday in the heart of Iran — did little to resolve the deeper grievances between the foes and left the door open to further fighting.

“It appears we’re closer than ever to a broad regional war, despite the fact that the international community will most likely make a great effort to de-escalate tensions,” wrote Amos Harel, the military-affairs commentator for the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Israel has long considered Iran to be its greatest enemy — citing the Islamic Republic’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its controversial nuclear program and its support for hostile proxies across the Middle East.

These tensions have risen since Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Iranian-backed Palestinian groups, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza that has continued for more than six months. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy in Lebanon, immediately began striking Israeli targets, opening up tit-for-tat fighting along a second front, while Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have also fired missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war.

While Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war for years, mostly in neighboring Syria, they have largely avoided direct confrontations. That changed after an April 1 airstrike killed two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Although Israel did not comment, Iran blamed Israel for the strike and vowed revenge.

Iran responded with its first-ever direct attack on Israel, launching over 300 missiles and attack drones late Saturday night. Israel, working with a U.S.-led international coalition, said it intercepted 99% of the incoming fire, though a handful of missiles managed to land, causing minor damage to an Israeli military base and seriously wounding a young girl.

In Friday’s attack, Iranian state television said that air defense batteries fired in several provinces over reports of drones in the air. Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said crews targeted several flying objects.

“The explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of air defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,” Mousavi said.

Authorities said air defenses fired at a major air base near Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. The apparent attack Friday came on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday.

State television described all Iranian atomic sites in the areas as “fully safe.” The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said there was “no damage” to Iran’s nuclear sites.

Iranian officials made no mention of possible Israeli involvement. That could be intentional, particularly after Iranian officials for days have been threatening to respond to any Israeli retaliatory attack.

Israel also had no comment on the apparent attack, though one hard-line government minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, hinted at his dissatisfaction, with a one-word tweet early Friday, using a slang word for weak or lame.

But Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said at a summit of Western leaders in Capri that the U.S. received “last-minute” information from Israel about the attack. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not dispute that, but said: “We were not involved in any offensive operations.”

Yoel Guzansky, a former Iran expert in the Israeli prime minister’s office, said Israel appears to have carried out the attack to “check off a box” by sending a message to Iran without doing anything too provocative that could upset the United States, which had urged restraint, or spark further Iranian retaliation.

“It seems very limited, to send a message that ‘we can strike you inside of Iran,’” said Guzansky a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

He said “the current round” of violence appears to be over, but that “nothing has changed” with Israel still facing Iranian-backed threats on various fronts.

“I see further rounds,” he said. And the next time, if Iran surprises Israel or allies don’t assist in Israel’s defense, “the outcome will be different.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to the strikes.

“It is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” his office said.

Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute and a longtime regional analyst, challenged Iran’s claims that drones carried out the attacks. It appears instead that a small number of Israeli aircraft flew from Israel over Syria — striking at least two southern Syria military bases that have air defense systems along the way, he said.

They then entered Iraqi airspace, from where they fired a small number of Blue Sparrow air-to-surface ballistic missiles, likely without ever entering Iranian airspace, Lister said.

Accounts of explosions over Iraq support that scenario, and so does debris from what appears to be the booster of an Israeli-made Blue Sparrow missile that Iraqi security found in a field outside Baghdad, Lister said.

“In other words, the Israelis would never have needed to enter Iranian airspace to conduct this attack,” Lister said. “I think this was Israel’s way of just sending a message that we can reach you anywhere we want.”

If this latest round subsides, Israel can now return its focus to its ongoing war in Gaza and the simmering fighting with Hezbollah. With neither of those fronts letting up, the risk of further run-ins with Iran remains high, though neither side appears eager after Friday’s apparent Israeli attack.

“Neither side is ready to jump over the brink,” said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute. But he added a major caveat.

“Probably we’re going to go back to the proxy war, " he said, but now it’s a proxy war with the risk of “that sudden eruption of state-to-state war. Which we didn’t have to worry about before.”

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press journalists Nasser Karimi, Mehdi Fattahi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Nicole Winfield in Capri, Italy; contributed to this report.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Several groups in Pitt County are helping people with criminal backgrounds.

Second Change Lunch & Learn, hosted by NC Works Friday, offered information on how to complete the expungement process and job readiness.

NC Reentry Innovators For Success, Inc. and Pitt County Employment Services were there to answer questions.

Portia Pittman helped organize the workshop. She received a pardon of forgiveness from Governor Roy Cooper in Dec. 2023 and understands the importance of a second chance.

“We realized during the pandemic, that people really didn’t have access to getting expungement or they couldn’t afford getting expungement,” Pittman explained. “So we found a need, and we stood in the gap to really help them find that information and connect them to those resources to getting their criminal expungement.”

If you missed out on today’s workshop, there will be another one next Friday, April 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

You can reserve your spot by texting CHANCE to 252-549-4545. It will also be at NC Works at 3101 Bismarck St in Greenville.

LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Lenoir County deputies say a 22-year-old man accidentally shot and killed his 12-year-old brother last night.

Sheriff Jackie Rogers tells WITN News that the child was shot in the chest.

Za’Dok Clark was a student at Contentnea-Savannah School.

“The loss of a student is always tragic,” said Patrick Holmes, school system spokesman. “Our first thoughts are for the family of Za’Dok Clark and LCPS extends to them our heartfelt sympathy. The LCPS crisis management team is at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School today to provide additional counseling and support services for students and staff members and will be there as long as needed.”

Deputies have not released the older brother’s name.

This marks the third accidental shooting of a child in Lenoir County since the first of the year. On January 5th, a teenager was shot by their toddler sibling. That victim recovered, while nine days later a three-year-old boy was killed when he shot himself with an unsecured handgun.

In both of those cases, the fathers of the children were charged after deputies said they failed to properly secure their guns from the children.

Deputies say the preliminary investigation of the shooting of Za’Dok appears to be an accidental shooting by the older brother.

It happened on the 2600 block of Dean Drive just outside of Kinston around 7:00 p.m.

Authorities say the gun involved was a .22 caliber rifle.

The Lenoir County Department of Social Services is aiding the LCSO in this situation.

The sheriff’s office is consulting with the District Attorney’s office for guidance and the investigation into this shooting continues.

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (WITN) - Police in Goldsboro are investigating their fifth death in a week.

Like the others, police say foul play is not suspected the the death of Bryan Jackson.

The 42-year-old man’s body was found late this morning at a home in the 2000 block of East Ash Street.

Jackson’s death is the latest one Goldsboro has seen since last Friday. Police say they’re looking into whether fentanyl contributed to the first four deaths.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Harley is looking for a forever home! If you think that’s with you, contact the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina (252) 413-7247 and set up an appointment.

KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) - A community health fair aimed at providing community members with free health screenings is coming to an Eastern Carolina city!

In Kinston on April 20th from 11 am to 2 pm a community health fair is coming sponsored by the Kinston Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC. It will be located at the St. James AME Church at 402 E. Shine Street, Kinston, NC.

The free health screenings will offer information about cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, blood pressure checks, home care for disabled information, mental health resources, and addiction resources.

There will also be free giveaways.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Several groups in Pitt County are helping people with criminal backgrounds.

Second Change Lunch & Learn, hosted by NC Works Friday, offered information on how to complete the expungement process and job readiness.

NC Reentry Innovators For Success, Inc. and Pitt County Employment Services were there to answer questions.

Portia Pittman helped organize the workshop. She received a pardon of forgiveness from Governor Roy Cooper in Dec. 2023 and understands the importance of a second chance.

“We realized during the pandemic, that people really didn’t have access to getting expungement or they couldn’t afford getting expungement,” Pittman explained. “So we found a need, and we stood in the gap to really help them find that information and connect them to those resources to getting their criminal expungement.”

If you missed out on today’s workshop, there will be another one next Friday, April 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

You can reserve your spot by texting CHANCE to 252-549-4545. It will also be at NC Works at 3101 Bismarck St in Greenville.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Deputies in one Eastern Carolina county have charged a man with killing a neighbor’s cat.

Carteret County deputies have charged Jerry Box, of Newport, with cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm in the county within 400 feet of a residence.

The cat was shot on April 10th and Box was arrested two days later. Information on his arrest was just released by the sheriff’s office today.

Box was released after posting a $1,500 secured bond that was set by a magistrate.

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (WITN) - Camp Lejeune says a Marine died last night in Carteret County.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force said the death happened during a training exercise.

The Marine was a member of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to a news release.

Names of service members are not released until at least 24 hours after the family has been notified.

II MEF says the death remains under investigation.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Zoso will bring “The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience” to Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo Saturday, July 13th, with special guest Funkamongus.

Over the 29 years and over 4500 shows since ZOSO came together as a group in the mid-’90s, the seemingly tireless quartet continues to earn its well-deserved reputation as being, in the words of The L.A. Times, “head and shoulders above all other Led Zeppelin tributes.”

Gates open at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Click here for tickets and event information.

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - An Ayden man remains in jail after his arrest earlier this week on a half dozen child pornography charges.

Keith Thomas was arrested Tuesday by Pitt County deputies for six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Warrants say Thomas had six different videos that showed children engaged in sexual activity.

The documents say the crimes happened on last July 28th, while warrants were issued on Monday.

The 22-year-old Thomas was jailed on a $250,000 bond.

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - A man charged with felony secret peeping after a customer at a retail store recorded him putting his phone on the ground under a woman’s skirt is accused of doing the same thing at a Winterville church.

Winterville police say they charged Thomas Elliott with one count of secret peeping on Thursday. In that case, police said the crime happened at Opendoor Church on March 13th where Elliott was a volunteer.

Winterville police say the man is accused of doing the same thing at the church that he did at the Target store. Police say in all cases the victims were adult women.

In a statement, the church says the victim is an employee and that Elliott is a former staff member. “Out of a desire to protect any victims associated with this case and because this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to share any information at this time,” said a church spokesperson. “We are grateful for our local law enforcement and justice system and continue to work closely with them.”

Greenville police charged the man on Thursday with two additional charges for felony secret peeping at Target. He was served with the new warrants on Thursday.

According to Greenville police, their two additional charges come after a review of store camera footage from April 15th. In total, police say they have identified three separate victims at the store that morning and have charged him with five counts of secret peeping.

Greenville police spokesperson Kristen Hunter told WITN that Elliott was booked back into Pitt County Detention Center under a $10,000 bond.

On Tuesday, Greenville police say they charged Elliott with two additional charges for felony secret peeping at Target.

In their latest update, detectives say they are also aware of Elliott’s previous employment, and role as a volunteer, in several school settings. They say they are working closely with the schools and neighboring law enforcement agencies to review additional camera footage for any other potential victims.

We’re told detectives are continuing their review of Elliott’s electronic devices and have not found any evidence of inappropriate contact with children thus far.

The 21-year-old was arrested Monday after a woman recorded him putting his phone on the ground under another woman’s skirt, according to police. The customer posted her video on social media, where it’s been widely shared.

WITN spoke with the victim Tuesday. She said she decided to share her experience hoping to bring light to a dangerous trend, so others know what to do if caught in this situation.

“No matter how much you try to think you’re going to be prepared for it, it kind of throws you threw a loop when it actually happens,” the woman said.

A Pitt County School spokesman says Elliott was a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School in Greenville.

“We are disturbed and deeply concerned by video footage of the individual that has been shared on social media and news outlets, and based on the footage, the individual will not be returning to our campuses as a volunteer or hired as an employee,” said Tom McClellan, school system spokesman.

Elliott’s phone was seized by officers. According to police, detectives have not found any evidence of inappropriate contact with children as of yet.

Police say Target is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Anyone who was in Target mid-morning Monday and thinks they may have been in contact or nearby Elliott are asked to contact Detective Verdin with Greenville Police Department at (252)329-3399.

LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers tells WITN News that a 12-year-old boy killed last night at his home was shot in the chest.

The victim has been identified by Lenoir County Schools as Za’Dok Clark, a student at Contentnea-Savannah School.

“The loss of a student is always tragic,” said Patrick Holmes, school system spokesman. “Our first thoughts are for the family of Za’Dok Clark and LCPS extends to them our heartfelt sympathy. The LCPS crisis management team is at Contentnea-Savannah K-8 School today to provide additional counseling and support services for students and staff members and will be there as long as needed.”

This marks the third accidental shooting of a child in Lenoir County since the first of the year. On January 5th, a teenager was shot by their toddler sibling. That victim recovered, while nine days later a three-year-old boy was killed when he shot himself with an unsecured handgun.

In both of those cases, the fathers of the children were charged after deputies said they failed to properly secure their guns from the children.

Deputies say the preliminary investigation of the shooting of Za’Dok appears it to be an accidental shooting by a sibling.

It happened on the 2600 block of Dean Drive just outside of Kinston around 7:00 p.m.

Authorities say the gun involved was a .22 caliber rifle.

The Lenoir County Department of Social Services is aiding the LCSO in this situation.

The sheriff’s office is consulting with the District Attorney’s office for guidance and the investigation into this shooting continues.

LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A teenager has been charged with first-degree attempted murder for the shooting of another teen two months ago in La Grange.

Deputies say they arrested Da’Marie Gray, of La Grange, on Thursday.

He was charged with the February 17th shooting of a 15-year-old old who was shot in the hand and upper leg while walking down the 500 block of North Forbes Street.

The 18-year-old Gray was jailed without any bond.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An apparent Israeli drone attack near a major air base and a nuclear site in central Iran activated Iranian air defenses early Friday, just days after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.

No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel had attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. However, what appeared to be Israel’s first military response to Iran’s attack last weekend appeared to be limited, analysts said.

Regional tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.

Speaking at the G7 meeting in Capri, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the U.S. received “last-minute” information from Israel about the attack on Isfahan. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not dispute that, but said: “We were not involved in any offensive operations.”

The apparent attack, near a major air base and a nuclear site around the central city of Isfahan, came on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday. Israeli politicians also made comments hinting that the country had launched an attack.

Air defense batteries fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, Iranian state television reported. Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said crews targeted several flying objects, but the incident caused no damage.

Analysts said the relatively limited scope of the Israeli attack and the subdued response by Iran seemed to indicate the threat of an immediate escalation had diminished.

That “both sides downplayed it is the biggest of stories” out of the latest attack, said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute research center. “Neither side is ready to jump over the brink.’’

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres called for an end to the strikes.

“It is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” his office said.

Authorities said air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Tasnim news agency published a video from one of its reporters, who said he was in the southeastern Zerdenjan area of Isfahan, near its “nuclear energy mountain.” The footage showed two different anti-aircraft gun positions, and details of the video corresponded with known features of the site of Iran’s Uranium Conversion Facility at Isfahan.

“At 4:45, we heard gunshots,” he said. “It was the air defense, these guys that you’re watching, and over there too.”

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handling fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks.

State television described all atomic sites in the area as “fully safe.” The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites” after the incident.

The IAEA “continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts,” the agency said.

Iran’s nuclear program has rapidly advanced to producing enriched uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic deal with world powers after then-President Donald Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018.

While Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, Western nations and the IAEA say Tehran operated a secret military weapons program until 2003. The IAEA has warned that Iran now holds enough enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons if it chose to do so — though the U.S. intelligence community maintains Tehran is not actively seeking the bomb.

Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 a.m. local time as local warnings went out to aviators.

Iran then grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Iran later restored normal flight service, authorities said.

Around the time of the incident in Iran, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement saying Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an southern air defense unit and causing damage. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said.

That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, and east of Israel.

Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions. Authorities later found what appeared to be recent fragments of an air-to-surface missile near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad. In Iran’s initial attack on Israel, it did not use such weapons — though Israel has several types available for its air force, raising the possibility it was fired Friday as part of the attack.

An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists, said the missile had been shot down as a result of jamming operations. The Iraqi army does not have jamming devices of the type apparently used to down the missile, but Iran has provided such devices to its affiliated militias.

The apparent attack also briefly spooked energy markets, sending benchmark Brent crude above $90 before it fell again in trading Friday.

However, Iranian state-run media sought to downplay the incident after the fact. That could be intentional, particularly after Iranian officials for days have been threatening to retaliate for any Israeli retaliatory attack on the nation.

“As long as Iran continues to deny the attack and deflect attention from it and no further hits are seen, there is space for both sides to climb down the escalation ladder for now,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.

Vatanka, the Middle East Institute analyst, agreed, but with a major caveat.

“Probably we’re going to go back to the proxy war, " he said, but now it’s a proxy war with the risk of “that sudden eruption of state-to-state war. Which we didn’t have to worry about before.”

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Associated Press journalists Nasser Karimi, Mehdi Fattahi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; and Nicole Winfield in Capri, Italy; contributed to this report.