From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Two people died and seven others were injured after a shooting around 2:20 a.m. July 19 in the 250 block of Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville. 

The shooting reportedly occurred in the area outside Dalton’s Distillery and the neighboring Smile Starters parking lot, where witnesses say a large number of people had gathered after local bars closed.

“According to witnesses who spoke with News 13 but asked not to be identified, they heard 25 to 30 gunshots fired within seconds,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported late on July 19. “Several witnesses said the shots appeared to come from a vehicle traveling along Biltmore Avenue.”

In the aftermath, the Asheville Police Department said it believes the shooting stemmed from a prior gun violence incident and is actively searching for the unaccounted-for suspects. 

The July 19 incident is entirely separate from the fatal officer-involved shooting that took place on July 15 outside Shakey’s bar in downtown Asheville just days prior, the APD noted.

Following are details of the incident:

• Location: The majority of the shooting took place in the parking lot of Smile Starters next to Dalton Distillery as weekend crowds were letting out.

• Casualties: Two individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, and seven others were transported to Mission Hospital. 

Details of the investigation include the following:

• Motive: Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp stated this did not appear to be a random act, and preliminary evidence indicates a possible connection to prior gun violence.

• Suspects: No suspects are currently in custody, and police are actively working to track down those responsible.

• Crime scene: Detectives and forensic technicians have processed the large crime scene and recovered numerous shell casings. 

The APD is asking the public for any information regarding the incident, suggesting the following ways to help: 

• Call directly: Contact the APD at (828) 252-1110.

• Submit anonymous tips: Send a text to TIP2APD (847411) or use the TIP2APD smartphone app. 

Meanwhile, News 13’s “Comment Bubble” appearing after its story included the following assertions:

• johnbarleycornn— “MASA... Make Asheville Safe Again... Call in the National Guard, enforce a curfew, do something before more people are killed.”

• Snydley — “Ashevile never disappoints. LOL.”

• Calculator — “Epstein files.”

• RalphUmo — “Weren’t we told by the lunatic left that taking down the Vance Monument was forever prevent this type of violence? Can we have a representative from the left explain what that did not work and why we are still having extremely violent demographic based violence?”

• RoaringKitty — “Climate change.”

• herbgrower — “Isn’t the correct description ‘mass shooting’ —  or would that scare away tourists? After all, Trashville is doin’ just fine. Not too many killed this month. But diversity and equity, now we gotcha covered. Behind every decline in Trashville is a happy Democrat, checking all their liberal nonsense boxes and telling you people you’re happy about it. When will you people just wake up? it was a real nice and beautiful town ... that only lives in memories now.”

• liberalcritic — “As of July 19, 2026, there have been 31 confirmed shooting victims in the City of Asheville this year, alongside several other distinct gun violence. Cary, North Carolina, is roughly twice the size of Asheville. Media and police tracking show only two major shooting incidents reported in the town so far this year.” 

• Flyrodholder — “Time to republish the Fox News article and let people comment on how it misrepresents the city and is a hit piece.“

• JoePubliq — “Somehow, ‘we knew’ — then and now!”

• JoePubliq — “Fox News was wrong 

“We need more murals

“TrAsheville, a family-friendly tourist destination

“Helene is keeping tourists away

“Asheville needs more ‘affordable housing’

“This is all Donald Trump’s fault.”

• 80sasheville — “Is this retaliation for the other shootings that have been happening in Hillcrest and then we had the one that’s right next to where this shooting happened at in Maplecrest? Is this gang-related, which I would think it is? Also, why are we allowing a kava bar, which is just a freaking legal heroin store to operate.”

• 80sasheville — “Our city government is the absolute worst along with WLOS for not reporting anything about this until 8 hours after the incident that’s very poor.” 

• RoaringKitty — “Been 11 hours and not a peep out of Mayor Manhater. Unbelievable.”

• Flyrodholder — “There trying to figure out how to repackage this into a tax hike which they can funnel into a non profit with kickbacks that will only result in more debt. Only logical thing to do….”

• ATruthTeller — “The mayor and city council will do nothing and just find someone else to blame, as they always do. Rinse and repeat.” 

• ATruthTeller — “The problem also lies with the voters. They keep re-electing these clowns, and any candidate who actually is pro-business, serious, and wants to do something about this either never runs or is voted down at the polls. The voters buy into the myth that it’s always someone else’s fault, and so we end up with Esther vs Kim Part 34, once again.”

• Asheholes — “You supported BLM. Thank you! That bar was all POCs last night, so not surprised.”