“Kinston’s Crisis: Guns, Drugs, and the Cycle No One Wants to Talk About”

Police in Kinston responded to multiple reports of shots fired in the 2200 block of Old Snow Hill Road on November 20, 2025. What began as a call for gunfire quickly escalated into a major arrest involving both an 18‑year‑old man and his mother.

When officers arrived, they observed 18‑year‑old Jayden McKiver passing a rifle. A search of the residence uncovered an AR‑15 rifle, approximately nine grams of cocaine, 11 Suboxone dosage units, and assorted drug paraphernalia. Investigators also determined that McKiver’s mother, 51‑year‑old Tina Edwards‑Stephen, had been providing alcohol to minors. Both McKiver and Edwards‑Stephen were taken into custody and now face multiple charges related to weapons, drugs, and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

The discovery of Suboxone is especially troubling. This drug, originally designed to help people recover from opioid addiction, has taken over prisons across the country. Because access to proper treatment is limited inside, Suboxone often becomes contraband, traded and misused. The problem grows worse when people are released: without access to Suboxone, many relapse into heroin use, as withdrawal symptoms and cravings return with full force. This cycle fuels addiction, crime, and overdose deaths, showing how a single strip of Suboxone can represent a much larger crisis.

This incident underscores ongoing concerns about gun violence and drug activity in Kinston. The fact that a mother and son were arrested together highlights troubling family dynamics and the intergenerational impact of crime. Police emphasized that the seizure of an AR‑15 rifle and narcotics demonstrates the seriousness of the situation, raising alarms about youth access to both firearms and illegal substances.

The arrests came just one day before another violent incident in Kinston. On November 21, officers responded to a shooting at a Circle K convenience store on Herritage Street. A 59‑year‑old man was found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and rushed to ECU Health for treatment. Two violent events in less than 48 hours paint a troubling picture of Kinston’s current reality.

These incidents demand more than routine police response. They call for community reflection and accountability. What does it mean when a mother is arrested alongside her son for drugs, guns, and alcohol? What does it say about the environment young people are growing up in? And how can Kinston break the cycle of violence that seems to repeat itself week after week?

The answers are not simple, but the questions must be asked. Community leaders, educators, and families need to confront the fact that crime is not just happening in the streets — it is happening in homes. Preventing future tragedies requires more than arrests; it requires intervention, education, and rebuilding trust in neighborhoods where violence has become routine.

The arrests of Jayden McKiver and Tina Edwards‑Stephen serve as a wake‑up call. Guns, drugs, Suboxone, and alcohol supplied to minors are not isolated issues — they are part of a broader struggle for safety and accountability. As police continue to investigate, residents are left to confront the reality that crime is not only a public safety issue but also a family one, and that the failures of our prison and treatment systems spill directly into our neighborhoods.

Kinston cannot afford to ignore these patterns. If the community wants to protect its future, it must address the roots of violence and hold accountable not only individuals but also the systems and environments that allow crime to thrive.

Now is the time for action. Residents must demand accountability from local leaders, insist on transparency from media outlets, and push for real solutions to the addiction crisis. Families must speak openly about the dangers of drugs and guns, and schools and churches must step forward to educate and support young people before crime becomes their inheritance. Kinston’s future depends on whether its people are willing to confront these hard truths and demand change.