3 arrested in Mother’s Day shooting at Big Ed’s restaurant in North Raleigh
A pair of neighbors have been charged in a Mother’s Day fight and shooting at a Raleigh restaurant, police announced Monday.
Jermaine Mitchell, 51, and Alexander Barnes, 23, were arrested in the Sunday incident at Big Ed’s on Falls of Neuse Road, according to a Raleigh Police Department news release. The men live on the same block of Polanski Drive in Wake Forest, their arrest warrants show.
Mitchell is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, while Barnes is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflicting serious injury, discharging a firearm in city limits and three counts of assault on a female, according to court records.
Court documents don’t specify if the men knew one another or who was on what side of the fight.
Police were called to a report of a fight at the restaurant just before noon, The News & Observer previously reported. Two people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from the fight, and one person was grazed by a bullet.
Tuesday, a third person was arrested in connection with the incident. Adrienne Thorpe Barnes, 48, was accused of punching two women and pulling one by the hair, reported ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner. She is the mother of Alexander Barnes, ABC11 reports.
She is charged with two counts of simple assault and accessory after the fact for helping her son leave the scene.
The circumstances preceding the fight aren’t clear, but Barnes is accused of shooting a black handgun at least three times, according to his arrest warrant. He also allegedly punched three women in the face and assaulted two women with his handgun, the warrant states.
Mitchell, meanwhile, allegedly assaulted a male relative of one of the women with a chair, according to his arrest warrant.
Big Ed’s will be closed through Tuesday evening for “our staff to be with loved ones and to rest,” according to a Facebook post previously reported by The N&O. The restaurant thanked the Raleigh Police Department, Wake County EMS and the Raleigh Fire Department for their help.
“We extend our sincerest appreciation — and deepest concern — to our customers,” the statement said. “We hold you in our hearts today. We love you and appreciate all that you do for our restaurant.”
Mitchell was released on an unsecured bond but must not contact the alleged victim, according to his release order. Barnes was being held without bail as of Monday evening.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 6:10 PM.
