‘We miss him so much’: Teen charged with killing recent NC State graduate in Raleigh
Raleigh police have arrested a 19-year-old man in the fatal shooting of a recent N.C. State University graduate in a Food Lion parking lot on Friday night.
James Christopher Anderson is charged with murder in the death of 22-year-old Cody McLaggan, police said in a news release.
McLaggan graduated from N.C. State in December with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management, university spokesperson Mick Kulikowski told The News & Observer on Saturday.
Lilly Covington, a family friend, told The N&O that McLaggan’s mother died when he was young and that his father, Clifford, raised him and his two sisters. In a statement she shared over the phone, his father said:
”He was vibrant and had all these credentials and (was) looking forward to working in the field of agricultural business. We miss him so much and we are very upset that we won’t be able to see the fruits of his labor. Cody was the sweetest and most humble person you could have ever met, and he treated everyone with the upmost care. Constantly putting others before himself and never judging anyone for who they were.”
Covington said McLaggan was like a younger brother to her and never left a room without making her laugh.
“Growing up the way he did, without a mother, that was so important to him: to be able to put a smile on somebody else’s face,” she said.
McLaggan had a distinctive laugh — one she would hear in her head every time he was coming over.
“It wasn’t ever just a chuckle, it was always a full-blown belly laugh. It would catch you off guard, and that would make you laugh,” she said. “You want to be involved. You want to be a part of that. You want to experience the joy that’s making him happy.”
Covington said McLaggan had just accepted a job in Virginia working in an agricultural business.
He had written on his LinkedIn profile that he was looking forward to “gaining more hands-on experience and exploring the fascinating field of agricultural research.”
“He was getting ready to pack his things and go,” Covington said. “He was ready to start becoming an adult for himself and leave the nest.”
Fundraiser raises over $15,000 for family
There have been at least five homicides in Raleigh so far this year.
Friday’s shooting, on Western Boulevard near campus, came just weeks after four people were shot at a motel in Raleigh, leaving a 21-year-old dead.
Officers found McLaggan suffering from multiple gunshot wounds around 7:35 p.m.. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said.
Since then, a GoFundMe started by Covington has raised over $15,000 to support McLaggan’s family.
“Every penny of that is going to them,” she said. “You’re not supposed to bury your own children, and I did not want that thought and that stress of money on (McLaggan’s father’s) mind.”
The fundraiser, which Covington said was her brother’s idea, will help the family with funeral costs. Her brother, who went to pre-school with McLaggan, had continued to visit him in Raleigh, despite now being stationed in California with the U.S. Marine Corps, she said.
“(Growing up), everything my brother did, Cody was there,” she said. “Everything Cody did, my brother was there.”
“They are our family,” she added of the McLaggans. “That’s the way we see them.”
Covington was glad to see that police have arrested someone but said she didn’t know the suspect.
“I was trying to find him on Instagram or Facebook, and then I realized, it’s not even worth it,” she said. “Someone that we loved was taken from us, and getting anymore information on him is not going to do any good.”
Anyone with information on the shooting has been asked to either call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at (919) 834-HELP or to go to the CrimeStoppers website. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases.
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This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 11:57 PM.
