‘Once you knew her, you loved her’: Friend remembers woman killed in Salisbury

SALISBURY, N.C. — The loved ones of a 21-year-old woman killed over the weekend remember her fondly.

On Tuesday, one of Alyssia Adkins’ childhood friends told Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz she could light up a room.

“She was always there for you. She was loving and caring,” Jaelin Roberts said. “Once you knew her, you loved her.”

The Salisbury Police Department said Adkins was shot around 2 a.m. Sunday at the American Legion building on Old Wilkesboro Road. She died at the hospital, investigators said.

Jaelin Roberts said she and Adkins met as young teenagers in Wilkes County. They played on the same basketball team and shared countless sleepovers and laughs.

Roberts shared a video of a young Adkins showing off her bright personality.

“On the court, she was hilarious. She would never let anything bother her and she would go after them, and she always had the smile on her face -- on the court, off the court,” Roberts said.

Roberts said news of her friend’s death came as an absolute shock.

“When mom said there had been an accident and it was Alyssia and to sit down, and I suddenly wanted all the details and my heart just crushed,” Roberts said.

While police work to make an arrest, Roberts, like many others, is grieving.

“I will forever cherish those memories that we had,” she said.

″She is something I will never forget.”

Adkins’ mother told Goetz on Tuesday that one of her basketball coaches will speak at her funeral.

If you have any information, contact Salisbury police.

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