Sean Nicholas Watson, 48, a Black/African American male, was found just after midnight on Thursday, August 28, 2025, on Hoskins Mill Lane in Charlotte’s Freedom Division with a gunshot wound. Officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call rushed him to Atrium Health with life-threatening injuries. Despite medical care, Sean Nicholas Watson died on Saturday, August 30, 2025, two days after the shooting.
Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department quickly opened a homicide investigation and, through the ensuing work, identified a suspect: 40-year-old David Gary Graves. On Sunday, August 31, 2025, CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team located and arrested Graves. After an interview with homicide detectives, he was booked into the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and charged with murder and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities said the investigation remains active and asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.
Early reports indicated the confrontation on Hoskins Mill Lane involved an attempted robbery, and investigators documented the timeline from the initial call, to the medical transport, to the confirmation of death two days later. Publicly released information emphasizes that additional updates would be shared by the department’s Public Affairs Office as new details emerge, while noting that the next of kin for Sean Nicholas Watson, 48, had been notified of both his death and the arrest in the case.
