Teen suspect in Walmart shooting to be tried as an adult

Brian Campbell, 18, left, and Ezekiel Burden, 17. LUMBERTON — The 17-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting at Walmart on Dec. 30 will be tried as an adult according to Matt Scott, Robeson County District Attorney. Ezekiel Burden, 17, is expected to be extradited from Chicago back to Robeson County where he will make his first court appearance on Thursday, Scott told The Robesonian. “We take violent crime very seriously,” Scott said on Tuesday, explaining that the “nature of the crime” is the deciding factor on how a juvenile might be tried. The teen was arrested last week at a Greyhound Bus Station in Chicago, Illinois, by the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. On Dec. 20, Brandy Nicole Olson of Lumberton was shot and killed while waiting in line at the Woodforest Bank, inside of Walmart. Burden, 17, and Brian Campbell, 18, both of Lumberton, fired toward two people known by the suspects. Instead, Olson was struck and killed, Lumberton Police said following the shooting. On Dec. 23, LPD and the SBI arrested Campbell and charged him with accessory after the fact to a felony. “In the pursuit of justice, the SBI utilized multiple internal assets: Special Agents from the Southeastern and Coastal Districts, the Special Response Team (SRT), the Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT), and the Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) Intelligence Analysts,” a statement last week from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. “The SBI conducted interviews and searches, issued subpoenas, served search warrants, and deployed numerous specialized electronic surveillance techniques.” The SBI, stated that multiple law enforcement agencies have been working the case, including the Lumberton PD, Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), United States Marshals Service and Chicago Police Department. David Kennard is the executive editor of the Robesonian. Reach him by email at dkennard@robesonian.com.