Charlotte teen charged with murder in shooting that killed Encore employee, hurt 5
A teenager is facing a murder charge in connection to the deadly shooting near an uptown nightclub on Sunday that killed an employee and injured five others.
A 16-year-old arrested by Statesville police on Thursday has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department press release said Friday.
The shooting occurred near Encore Nightclub Charlotte around 2 a.m. in the 300 block of North College Street. An Encore employee, 37-year-old Arleigh Bryant, was killed, and five other people were injured.
The nightclub said in a social media post the shooting did not occur inside.
The unidentified teen, who is being held in Alexander County and is awaiting transfer to Charlotte, is the third person charged after the shooting.
Damien Evans II, 25, and Shawn Cannon, 24, were both charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm. Cannon was also charged with felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and accessory after the fact to murder.
CMPD’s press release did not explain the 16-year-old’s involvement. But a police affidavit for Evans and Cannon explained their alleged roles in the shooting.
Off-duty officers who were working nearby and responded initially interviewed Evans and Cannon. Evans was accused of holding a 9mm Glock that was taken by an officer.
He and Cannon got into a vehicle and drove out of a nearby alleyway, but a security guard working at a nightclub said they saw the shooter get into that vehicle. An officer found them on East 6th Street and tried to speak to Cannon, the driver, but he sped off.
Police attempted to stop the vehicle but lost sight of it. They later found it abandoned and found a Glock underneath a hat inside.
Evans and Cannon appeared in court Tuesday. Evans was not given bond, while Cannon was given a $3 million bond after a judge read through their previous charges and a summary of their alleged involvement in Sunday’s shooting.
Uptown security changes?
The Hive, another nearby nightclub, now says no traffic or parking would be allowed in the alleyway, and that it had increased its security measures.
At a press conference about mid-year crime stats in Charlotte Thursday, Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said there is nowhere else in the city that has more officers per square block than CMPD’s Central Division, which covers the uptown area.
“That’s a combination of on-duty units, it’s off-duty units ... they’re one of the divisions that we have that has the fortune to have a full-time bike unit during the kind of peak restaurant club hours during the weekend.”
Butler said the increased presence is standard protocol at CMPD, but that people might notice the heavier presence given the attention uptown crime has received.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM.
