STANLY COUNTY, N.C. -- Stanly County detectives said a 9-year-old boy and his family were caught in the middle of a shootout between suspected gang members early Sunday when the boy was shot to death.

Rose Hall, the boy’s grandmother, said she and her daughter, Kesha, were by Jamorie Hall’s side she he was injured.

“I heard Kesha calling, ‘Come on! They’re shooting this way!’ And he collapsed right there,” she said.

The Hall family was selling food at the Cottonville Reunion to raise money for their church when the barrage of bullets began just after midnight.

Stanly County Sheriff Rick Burris talked about the young boy's life cut short.

"It's just a total waste. Should never have happened. It's just a sad, sad thing. Prayers to those folks," he said.

No arrests have been made in connection to the shooting death. Hall said she wishes she could ask those involved in the gunfire one thing.

“Was that fight worth people’s lives that they didn’t even know?” she asked.

Burris said he asked church event organizers to hire a minimum of four off-duty officers to patrol the area. He said it's their responsibility to provide security because the festivities are on private property.

He said the organizers refused, saying they couldn't afford them. The sheriff said that’s why he had officers patrolling the streets in the area but not the property.

Organizers said it would cost $400 to hire four officers, but they'll discuss the possibility at their meeting before the event next year.

Detectives have arrested one person who was at the event. Cadaron Tyson is charged with being armed to terrorize the public. The sheriff said Tyson’s gun jammed and did not fire when he tried to shoot at several other gunmen.

Police said their investigation continues and more arrests are coming.

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