Kiana Jones, 24, Remembered as 'Sunshine' After Fatal Shooting in North Carolina
Kiana Jones, a 24-year-old North Carolina Central University student from Rowland known to family as “Sunshine,” was shot and killed on Thursday, August 20, 2026, while sitting in a vehicle in the Lumberton area, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jones leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter. Relatives described her as a young woman raised in love who gave that same love freely. “She was born out of love. She was raised in love. And that’s all she knew how to do was love,” her father, Miles Tann, said.
Deputies responded about 9:50 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, to the 100 block of Indian Heritage Road outside Lumberton after a report of a person shot. They found Jones dead inside a car. A second person in the vehicle, identified by authorities as Martev Gunter of St. Pauls, was not injured.
Investigators arrested 22-year-old Cedrione K. McDowell of Lumberton two days later, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Fugitive Task Force. McDowell is charged with first-degree murder in Jones’s death, attempted first-degree murder, and discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle. He is being held without bond at the Robeson County Detention Center.
Family members said Jones and McDowell had been in a relationship. Jones’s parents told reporters they believed he had been abusive and that deputies had been called to her home more than once. The Robeson County District Attorney’s Office and sheriff’s officials said McDowell had no prior domestic-violence charges involving Jones. Court records showed he was out of jail on a $100,000 bond for a felony drug charge at the time of the shooting.
NCCU announced Jones’s death to students in early September and planned a moment of silence for her on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in the Student Center. University leaders urged students mourning her death to use campus counseling services.
A Lumberton funeral director who helped the family said the loss was especially hard because of the child Jones left behind. “As I see Kiana’s daughter, I just can only imagine,” Anthony Buie said.
The sheriff’s office homicide and criminal investigation divisions continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call 910-671-3100.
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