GREENE COUNTY, NC - The small street that runs through downtown Snow Hill is marked with black and blue, a sign of the sorrow now filling the town in mourning after the murder of Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Jon Willis.
“At this point in time everyone needs prayer, especially with what's going on in the community,” said Samuel Edmonds who owns a business in Greene County.
Inside businesses along Greene Street the sentiment is the same.
”This is a very tight knit community so what affects one, affects all. It's a domino effect from the EMS to the corrections officer to people on the street,” said Snow Hill florist Melissa Lopergolo.
Her floral business is busy, evidence of the impact Deputy Willis left on the entire community.
From prayers and phone calls to the family to ribbons like this one, the people who live here say they'll never forget.
They struggle with the way Deputy Willis died-- answering the call of duty.
“Someone's going out trying to protect someone else and they end up losing their life for you,” said Edmonds.
“He was there to make sure someone else was safe and some how he got shot,” said Lopergolo.
To honor his memory each of them, like the rest of the community, must continue to look ahead.
“Encourage the family, I really think they need encouragement right now,” said Edmonds.
“No one expects that, no one expects that,” said Lopergolo.
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