5-year-old found fatally stabbed in Pineville home, police say. Father arrested

An early-morning call to a Pineville apartment revealed a 5-year-old had been stabbed multiple times, according to police in Pineville.

The discovery was made just after 12 a.m. Thursday, at the Sabal Point Apartments in the 12600 block of South Polk Street, police said in a July 9 news release.

The boy’s father has been named a suspect, police said.

“Pineville police received a 911 call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon inside an apartment. Pineville officers arrived very quickly and found a 5-year-old child unresponsive with multiple stab wounds,” police said.

“Immediately began rendering emergency medical care and ended up driving the child to the hospital in the police car. The five-year-old child did not survive and was pronounced deceased at the hospital.”

The boy’s father, Jehaaz-Akil Khaliq Echoles, 31, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder in the case, police said.

Echoles is an ex-boyfriend of the boy’s mother, WSOC reports. Another child was in the home at the time of the stabbing but was not hurt, the station said.

Details of a motive have not been released.

This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 4:57 AM.