Shane Evan Tomlinson, a talented vocalist who graduated from Northwest Cabarrus High School and East Carolina University, was a victim of the mass shooting in Orlando.
Also killed was Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25, of Statesville. According to his Facebook page, he studied Business administration at Strayer University South.
Tomlinson, 33, sang lead vocals for Frequency, a cover band that performed at nightclubs and weddings in the Orlando area. Saturday night, he had sung with his band at the Blue Martini.
As news of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub spread on Sunday morning, friends began a desperate search to find Tomlinson – described by a fellow musician as “kind hearted, funny, passionate.”
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“I pray to God that you not answering your phone is pure coincidence,” the musician tweeted.
On Monday, after theCity of Orlando announced news of his death, the flag at Northwest Cabarrus High in Concord was lowered to half staff.
At ECU, where Tomlinson graduated in December 2003 with a bachelor of science degree in communication with a minor in business administration, he was remembered for his “high intensity personality and impressive singing voice.” A candlelight vigil for the ECU and the Greenville community will be held Tuesday.
According to the ECU News Service, Dr. Lathan Turner, associate director of student transitions, met Tomlinson when he was a student and kept in touch over the years. “... If you met him once he became a part of who you are,” Turner said.
He said Tomlinson was also a part of the ECU gospel choir and the student modeling group Ombionce. “He was destined for a grand stage and he was doing exactly what he wanted to do.”
Tarrick Cox, advisor to ECU’s gospel choir, told the campus news service that Tomlinson had a contagious personality. “He was gifted and creative,” Cox said. “He was a go-getter who did well academically. He always looked at people as individuals and never categorized them,” said Cox.
Turner said Tomlinson leaves behind his mother, father, a sister and a young nephew he adored.