Stephen Thomas, 40, a Black man from Conover, was shot shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday, July 21, 2025, in the parking lot of the VIP Coin Laundry on Thornburg Drive SE. Officers found Stephen Thomas, 40, wounded in the lot, and early reports identified the scene as the laundromat's parking area. Gun Violence Archive lists the incident location as 101 Thornburg Drive SE, corroborating the site and date.
Stephen Thomas, 40, was struck in the lower abdomen and taken for emergency care. He succumbed to his injuries two days later, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, with local reporting noting his death mid-week following the Monday shooting. An obituary published by a Hickory funeral home records that Stephen Thomas, 40, died on July 23, 2025, at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
In the days immediately after the shooting, police confirmed the death of Stephen Thomas, 40, and said the investigation was active. Regional outlets reported that as of Thursday and Friday of that week, authorities had not announced an arrest. One report added that while no charges had been filed by July 25, investigators anticipated charges as the case progressed. A memorial page dedicated to Stephen Thomas, 40, also marks July 21, 2025, as the date he was lost to gun violence in Conover and links to those local news updates.
By the end of that week, officials had not publicly identified a suspect in the shooting of Stephen Thomas, 40, nor detailed any arrests, leaving the case's next steps dependent on the ongoing work of Conover investigators. Coverage at the time emphasized the developing nature of the inquiry and urged patience as detectives gathered evidence from the laundromat parking lot and surrounding area.
