‘Asking for answers’: Family puts up billboard in hopes of solving murder of Gastonia barber

GASTONIA, N.C. — A family has spent the last three years searching for answers after a well-known barber was killed inside his home.

Now they are hoping a billboard on Franklin Boulevard will lead to justice.

The Gastonia Police Department said Johnny “Luke” Moore was shot and killed during a home invasion at his Allison Avenue home on July 26, 2021.

Moore, 33, was a barber in Gastonia.

Stephan Moore told Channel 9 that his brother often poured into the community along Franklin Boulevard, which is why loved ones chose that location to bring awareness to his case.

“A sign from our family that we will continue to keep John Luke’s name at the forefront of the community,” Stephan Moore said. “Franklin Boulevard was no better place to place this billboard for everyone to see him smiling down on them and just again asking for answers in his unsolved homicide.”

Stephan Moore said if he could have one last conversation with his brother, it would go something like this:

“We love you. We will always love you. We miss you. We need haircuts. I just wish I could hear your laugh,” Stephan Moore expressed.

The family said they are ready to forgive the person who took their loved one’s life but they can’t do that without knowing who did it.

“We’re just asking for the community to please, please, please provide us with some answers,” Stephan Moore echoed.

Police said a $5,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest.

VIDEO: ‘Step forward’: Family, friends raise reward for arrest in slaying of beloved Gastonia barber

‘Step forward’: Family, friends raise reward for arrest in slaying of beloved Gastonia barber

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