Charlotte Harris Teeter was second store since January intentionally set on fire
A weekend fire at a Harris Teeter in north Charlotte that caused $500,000 in damages was the second location to be intentionally set ablaze since January.
The Charlotte Fire Department said no one was injured in the fire at the Davis Lake Parkway store that took 90 firefighters around 70 minutes to bring under control Saturday night.
A Harris Teeter spokesperson said the store was temporarily closed in a statement to The Observer Monday.
“We are grateful to our valued associates at The Shops at Davis Lake for their quick response in safely evacuating our associates and customers, and to the emergency responders who bravely worked to extinguish the fire,” the statement said. “Our teams will continue to work with emergency responders, professional restoration companies and guidance from the Health Department to determine when we can re-open.”
Authorities have not announced an arrest in the case and the incident remains under investigation.
Harris Teeter fire in south Charlotte in January
Joshua Louis Rabon, of Lancaseter, S.C., was charged with burning of an occupied commercial structure. A police affidavit said no one was injured in the fire, which caused $33,000 in damages.
Rabon was identified with video surveillance from the store and license plate reader photographs of his vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The footage showed a suspect using a lighter and a fire starter log to set store merchandise on a shelf on fire. The suspect then pushed a cart filled with groceries towards the front door of the store, the affidavit said, but was stopped by a store manager who took the cart back.
The suspect could then be seen getting into a vehicle, a white Toyota 4-Runner, and leaving the store’s parking lot. The vehicle was later identified as Rabon’s, the affidavit said.
Rabon’s case is still pending in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 11:30 AM.
