6-year-old among 4 shot at North Carolina celebration of life service

A search was is ongoing in North Carolina for assailants who opened fire on a group of mourners, including a 6-year-old child, holding a celebration of life service.

A search is ongoing in North Carolina on Tuesday for assailants who shot four mourners, including a 6-year-old child and a teenager, at an outdoor celebration of life service for a homicide victim, according to police.

Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams asked for the public's help in identifying the suspect or suspects in the shooting, which came during a surge in gun violence in major cities across the nation.

"Six-year-old kids are supposed to be hurt from falling off bicycles, from ... tripping and falling, not from gunfire," an emotional Williams said in a video statement. "Whoever did this, you are a low-down dirty coward, and you shouldn't be able to look at yourself in the mirror each day."

The shooting unfolded about 6:40 p.m. Sunday in northwest Wilmington, where a group was holding a celebration of life service at the spot where a 33-year-old man was fatally shot on Jan. 27, Williams said.