CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One person is dead following a shooting at a shopping plaza near a motel in northeast Charlotte late Saturday night, police said.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it responded to a shooting along North Tryon Street around 11:23 p.m.
Malik Fidel Whitney, 50, was found with gunshot wounds and was taken to Atrium Health's Carolina Medical Center hospital by Medic. He was pronounced dead by hospital staff, officers said.
During the initial investigation, officers detained a security guard, 53-year-old Darrell McKinley, and charged him with voluntary manslaughter. On Thursday, police announced the charge had been upgraded to homicide.
Police confirmed the victim and suspect knew each other.
CMPD said the shooting death is Charlotte's first homicide of 2022
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective.