An act of kindness cost a young father his life in Memphis, TN, leaving a family to grapple with a future stolen from them. Devin Wilson, a 27-year-old African American man and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, was fatally shot on May 14, 2017. The incident that led to his untimely death unfolded at an IHOP restaurant on Shelby Drive, where Wilson was present as a customer.
That evening, a domestic dispute erupted between an employee of the restaurant and her ex-boyfriend.
The altercation escalated to the point where the man reportedly began to choke the woman. Witnessing the assault, Devin Wilson chose to intervene in an attempt to de-escalate the situation and protect the employee. His courageous act, however, made him a target. The assailant, identified as Charles Derrick Harris, then 61 years old, pulled out a firearm.
In the chaotic moments that followed, Harris fired the weapon, striking Wilson in the head. A security guard who also tried to intervene was shot in the arm but survived his injuries. Harris fled the scene after the shooting, leaving behind a scene of shock and tragedy. Emergency services transported Wilson to the hospital, but his injuries proved to be catastrophic. His family would later make the heart-wrenching decision to remove him from life support.
The search for Charles Derrick Harris spanned several months. He was eventually located and apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Chicago in November 2017. Following his arrest, Harris was extradited to Memphis to face legal proceedings. In December 2017, a grand jury indicted him on multiple charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Devin Wilson, attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of the security guard, two counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and firearm-related offenses. Despite the indictment and the gravity of the charges, information regarding the subsequent trial, conviction, or sentencing of Charles Derrick Harris for the murder of Devin Wilson is not available in the online sources that were found. The final legal resolution of this tragic case remains publicly undisclosed.
