Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, a Black man from Charlotte, was found shot in the 1900 block of Milton Road near The Plaza on the evening of June 24, 2025. Officers responded just before 7:30 p.m. to an assault with a deadly weapon call; MEDIC pronounced Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, dead at the scene. Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Unit processed the area and began collecting evidence as the investigation opened under report number 20250624-1928-00.
In the days that followed, the case sharpened around a portrait of a young life ended in a public place where neighbors often gathered. Early local coverage described the chaos outside the convenience store and the grief that spread through the community as the name of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, circulated and friends left messages mourning him. An initial report mistakenly listed him as 17, an error later corrected by police to confirm that Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, had been the victim. Memorial pages soon recorded that Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, was lost to gun violence in Charlotte on June 24, 2025.
Investigators announced their first break on July 8: a 17-year-old juvenile from Charlotte was arrested and charged with murder in the killing of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24. Police did not release the juvenile's name because of age, but they made clear that the arrest followed work by the department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team. The following week, authorities emphasized that the probe was still active as they continued to interview witnesses and review evidence tied to the shooting of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24.
On July 17, detectives identified a second suspect and moved swiftly. CMPD's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team located 21-year-old Antonio Ray and arrested him the same day. Antonio Ray was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the death of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, and transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. Police noted that the investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers. The next morning, local outlets summarized the sequence: an unnamed juvenile charged first, then the arrest of Antonio Ray as the second suspect in the fatal shooting of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24.
Authorities have not publicly released a motive or detailed narrative of the moments leading up to the gunfire that killed Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24. What is known is that the shooting unfolded quickly outside a neighborhood store and that, within weeks, two suspects were in custody on allegations ranging from murder to conspiracy tied to the killing of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24. Police say the case is still open, and they continue to seek any information that might complete the picture of how and why the life of Dontre Lamar Williams, age 24, ended on a summer evening in east Charlotte.
