Rocky River High cafeteria fight led to CMS student’s killing, wrongful death suit alleges
A wrongful death lawsuit filed last week against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools alleges Rocky River High School staff didn’t take a student’s threat seriously enough before the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahzir Taylor.
Taylor was shot in the head Nov. 30, 2022, shortly after getting off a school bus, according to the lawsuit filed in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. He was transported from the Reserve at Canyon Hills, the east Charlotte neighborhood where he was shot, to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said at the time. He died on Dec. 2.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested two juveniles in connection with the shooting in December 2022.
The shooting occurred because of a fight in the cafeteria of Rocky River High School, according to the lawsuit filed by Keon Marcel Taylor, the teen’s father and administrator of his estate. It says Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employees were negligent because they didn’t protect Taylor from a threat made in the cafeteria and didn’t report the incident to a law enforcement agency.
The lawsuit says Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is responsible for damages that include medical and funeral expenses and Taylor’s potential net income. Besides suing CMS, the suit also names former Rocky River Principal Kwame Stith, who resigned in 2023.
CMS declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Rocky River High School fight
The cafeteria fight, which was captured on the school’s cameras, didn’t involve Taylor, but a staff member accused him of being involved, according to the lawsuit. That’s when another student threatened to shoot and kill Taylor.
The school allegedly didn’t call Taylor’s parents after the fight, which the lawsuit says was necessary to pick him up early and protect him. Staff members also should have prevented the student who threatened Taylor from leaving, according to the lawsuit.
Taylor rode the bus home at the end of the day and arrived at his bus stop around 2:30 p.m. That’s when he was met by the student who threatened him earlier in the day, according to the lawsuit. That student shot at Taylor near the bus stop, the lawsuit says.
A doorbell camera showed Taylor running before he was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground, WSOC-TV reported at the time. Three people who appeared to be following him jumped into a car and drove off, the TV station reported.
Reporter Rebecca Noel contributed to this story.
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 9:20 AM.
