Teen kills friend with gun he thinks isn’t loaded
Published 10:56 pm Saturday, June 21, 2025
- Jayden Hunter Hicks
One person has died following an early morning shooting Saturday on Hutchins Way not far outside of the town of Faith, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say they received a 911 call at 5:02 a.m. June 21 from a man saying he had shot his friend. First responders immediately went to a home in the 100 block of Hutchins Way, where they found 19-year-old Jayden Hunter Hicks had been shot.
Colton Alexander Adkins, also 19, told investigators he and Hicks had been “hanging out and listening to music” in Adkins’ room. Adkins said he picked up a rifle in the corner, and believing the gun was not loaded, he pointed it in Hicks’ direction and pulled the trigger.
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Adkins told deputies the weapon went off and the bullet hit Hicks. Adkins called 911 right away, and the dispatcher gave him instructions for life-saving measures until emergency crews arrived. Unfortunately, Hicks was pronounced dead by first responders on the scene.
Investigators with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office worked alongside special agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) to process the scene and determine the cause of events and accuracy of information relayed to investigators, according to Captain Mark McDaniel of the sheriff’s office.
After the scene was processed and interviews were concluded, Adkins was charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was taken to the Rowan County Magistrate’s Office, given a $10,000 bond and then taken to the Rowan County Detention Center.
“Jayden was the sweetest soul you could meet,” said his aunt, Samantha Veros. “He would do anything for the people he cared about. He wanted to see the best in everyone. He was a smart kid who did his best to stay out of trouble. I just want people to know how amazing he was.”
Veros has started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses.
“We never expected to have to prepare for something like this,” she added. Donations can be made here .
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Lisa Taylor, Jayden’s paternal grandmother, said Jayden had been staying with friends for a few days while other family was in town. He lived with her and had given up his room for a family visit.
“That tells you a lot about the person he was,” she said. She added that her husband has health issues and Jayden always said he would stay with her if anything happened. Jayden, she said, was into dirt bikes, skateboarding (he has been recovering from a broken ankle thanks to his love of that), fishing and golf, and was working his way to a high school diploma online after leaving East Rowan High School a year and a half ago.
“He was slowly but surely getting there,” she said. The two had plans to go get his driver’s license next week, and then Jayden had planned to visit his other grandfather in California to learn the cable television business that his grandfather ran.
“The young man who shot him was his best friend,” Taylor said. “They loved each other like brothers, and I am worried about him, too. Jayden’s mother and I are planning to go and talk to the judge and ask for leniency. Jayden would not want him prosecuted, and we don’t want him to be, either. He did not mean to do this.”
Naomi Hall-Bruce, who has been Jayden’s girlfriend for the past four years, talked about what a wonderful man he was.
“I want to talk about his amazing personality and the ability he had to make me smile in an instant,” she said. “He was the most genuine person I’ve ever met.”
The two met when they were young and were childhood friends for years, then reconnected in 2021 “and it was very easy from then on,” she said. “He had a beautiful smile and eyes you could get lost in. He had so many plans and was ready to put them into action, This is the hardest loss of my life and he will be forever missed.”
Jayden had three older brothers and a younger sister, and his sister-in-law Nataha Tejeda said “he was so loved. His brothers and sister adored him beyond words. Jordan, Josh, Jacob, and then there was Jayden, the four Js, they were the fantastic four.”
Tejeda said she cherished the memories she got to make with Jayden, and noted the photo being shared is from a day she took him jet skiing for the first time, and she “got to capture such an amazing memory with him. I feel so lucky to have watched him grow into such a wonderful young man during the time I’ve been with his brother. He was kind, hilarious and had this amazing way of lighting up every room he entered. It was an honor to get to watch him grow up and be a part of this family. He made being a sister-in-law so fun and so easy and showed me that family can only get bigger.”
Taylor said Jayden had grown up with guns, had been taught to hunt and to be respectful of guns, how to handle them safely. On Saturday, she and her husband went to the scene, and then visited with Jayden’s tight-knit group of friends to let them know what happened.
“They were hit pretty hard,” she said. “It’s a close group. This is hard for them.
“I can’t imagine anyone having anything bad to say about Jayden, everyone liked him. I don’t know why God needed to take such a sweet, respectful, wonderful young man, but I know that he was baptized, he knew God, and he is home now.”
Investigators say they continue to gather information, and anyone with anything to add is asked to contact Detective D. Fero or Detective Sgt. K. Holshouser.
“What we think is important, moving forward,” said McDaniel, “is to always remember the four cardinal rules of gun safety. Always treat any firearm as if it were loaded. Only point your firearm at your intended target. Be certain of your target and what is behind it. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire. We acknowledge that this is a tragedy that no one should ever have to experience. Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Jayden Hicks.”