How an argument left Morrisville man fatally wounded in Crumbl Cookies
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- A Morrisville man, John Willis Fraizer III, is charged with murder in a Feb. 23 shooting.
- Zachary Horn was fatally wounded at the Park West Village shopping center in Morrisville.
- Search warrants state the shooting happened after an argument between the two.
The man accused of fatally shooting another man at a Morrisville shopping center this winter was allegedly known for becoming combative when he drank, according to search warrants released Friday.
John Willis Fraizer III, 56, is charged with murder in the Feb. 23 death of Zachary Horn, 45, The News & Observer previously reported. Horn was fatally shot shortly before 9:30 p.m. at Park West Village in Morrisville.
Fraizer was disarmed that night by two men at Ruckus Pizza, search warrants state. One told investigators he saw the conflict preceding the shooting, stating Horn argued with Fraizer after pressing his body against Fraizer’s, according to the warrants.
The two men separated, but Fraizer allegedly fired a .22 revolver at Horn after Horn, who was estimated to be 7 to 10 feet away, took a step toward him, the warrants state. A fatally wounded Horn stumbled into Crumbl Cookies, while Fraizer was at Ruckus Pizza; it’s not clear where the shooting took place.
“Additional statements from Ruckus Pizza employees, including (a witness), indicated that the suspect (Fraizer) is a regular patron who frequently consumes alcoholic beverages at the establishment and has displayed aggressive behavior toward staff and customers on multiple prior occasions,” one search warrant says.
Employees also reported Fraizer allegedly called people racial slurs, including the n-word, and “other derogatory terms” while at Ruckus, according to the warrant.
Investigators seized 650 rounds of .22 ammunition and a 9 mm X-treme Luger cartridge casing from Fraizer’s truck, which bore a vanity license plate reading “PEW!,” according to a search warrant.
Fraizer is thought to have been intoxicated during the shooting; a detective wrote Morrisville police and witnesses noticed “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from his breath. Fraizer declined to speak to detectives after his arrest, but one of the men who disarmed him told police Fraizer admitted shooting Horn, search warrants state.
Horn, a groundskeeper for the Durham Bulls, died shortly after arriving at Duke University Hospital in Durham. He was remembered by loved ones as a passionate artist who adored his three daughters and often helped local search-and-rescue teams, The N&O previously reported.
Fraizer remained in jail without bail as of Monday afternoon.
