CMPD makes two arrests in shooting that injured 5 and killed nightclub employee
Charlotte police made two arrests Monday in connection with the Sunday morning shooting that killed a nightclub employee and injured five other people uptown.
On Monday, police identified the man killed as 37-year-old Arleigh Alexzander Bryant, an Encore employee.
Damien Evans II, 25, and Shawn Cannon, 24, were charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm, according to Mecklenburg County court records.
Cannon was also charged with felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and accessory after the fact to murder.
CMPD officers who were working off duty nearby at the time of the shooting interviewed Evans and Cannon, but weren’t aware of their alleged involvement, a police affidavit said.
One of the officers working saw Evans holding a black Glock 9mm with an extended magazine in his hand, the affidavit said. An officer took the gun away from Evans.
Evans and Cannon walked over to a silver BMW after being interviewed by police and drove away.
Another officer was flagged down by a security guard at a nightclub who pointed out a silver BMW, saying he saw the shooter get into the vehicle and drive out of an alleyway. The officer approached the BMW while it sat in traffic at East 6th Street and spoke to Cannon, the driver, who rolled up the window and drove away, the affidavit said.
Police pursued the vehicle, but lost sight of it, according to the affidavit.
It was towed by the department after it was later found abandoned. Officers searched it and found a black hat on the floor and a black Glock underneath the hat.
Evans was granted a $50,000 secured bond on Monday, while Cannon was not allowed a bond.
Cannon’s attorney, George Laughrun, and his mother appeared in court Tuesday for his first appearance in front of Judge Matthew Newton in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.
Newton read through the narrative of Sunday’s events as well as a list of previous convictions for Cannon and Evans. He called them each the “very definition of a danger to the community.”
Cannon’s record goes back to when he was 17 or 18, the judge said. It includes two gun-related convictions and three convictions of fleeing to elude arrest.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Everett asked Newton for a high bond, while Laughrun asked the judge to consider giving Cannon an ankle monitor and lower bond so he could be released.
Newton set bond at $3 million for Cannon and refused to allow any bond for Evans.
Newton sided with Everett, giving Cannon a $3 million secured bond.
Laughrun declined to comment after the hearing.
Evans appeared without an attorney.
Police news conference Monday
Officers seized more than seven guns at the scene of the 2 a.m. shooting, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said at a Monday afternoon press conference.
The department’s homicide detectives were interviewing both suspects on Monday, according to Butler. He said multiple people were likely involved in the shooting and that the police investigation is ongoing. Butler declined to share an estimate of how many people were involved and how many shots were fired.
CMPD had nine off-duty officers stationed in the 300 block of North College Street on the night of the incident, according to Butler.
“There is nowhere you can go in this city on a Friday or a Saturday night where you would encounter more police officers per city block than you will in uptown Charlotte,” Butler said.
Butler declined to share if police believe the people involved in the shooting knew each other or if they were patrons of nearby nightclubs Encore and QC Social Lounge. He declined to say what police believe may have prompted the shooting.
Butler declined to say if police believe Bryant was caught in crossfire or was a target of the shooting.
Nightclub issues statement
Encore Nightclub Charlotte says the killing did not occur inside its facility or at the adjacent XoXo cocktail lounge, according to a Sunday statement posted on Facebook. The nightclub is at 314 N. College Street and closes at 2 a.m. on Saturdays.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one our valued employees. ... We want to make it clear that this incident did not occur or stem from any conflict or altercation inside Encore/XO,” the club said in its Facebook post.
“It appears to be the result of a senseless act of gun violence that occurred in the surrounding area. We are fully cooperating with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and all ongoing-investigations.”
Encore is “Charlotte’s top rated venue,” and hosts live music, special events and nightclub performances, according to its website.
Observer reporter Jeff A. Chamer contributed to this story.
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 5:35 AM.
