Man fatally shot while shielding 16-year-old girl from attack, Concord police say

A man was fatally shot when he intervened in a pre-dawn attack on a 16-year-old girl at a Concord home, according to police in Cabarrus County.

He took action after the girl had been punched in the face and assaulted with a 9mm handgun, court documents report.

It happened around 12:40 a.m. on Monday, June 1, inside a home on Bedlington Drive NW in Concord, police said in a June 1 news release.

“When officers arrived, they located two victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One victim, a 47-year-old man, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The second victim, a 16-year-old girl, was transported to the hospital,” police said.

“The preliminary investigation indicates the suspect and 16-year-old victim were dating and had an argument that escalated into an assault. The 47-year-old victim was shot while attempting to intervene. The suspect fired multiple rounds during the incident, seriously injuring the 16-year-old victim.”

Details of the 16-year-old girl’s condition were not released.

A 17-year-old suspect fled the scene and was located on a nearby street, police say.

Keshaun Tirrell Degraffenreid is being prosecuted as an adult in the case and has been charged with: felony first degree murder; felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and misdemeanor resisting officers, police said.

Concord is about a 26-mile drive northeast from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 5:33 AM.