Khalil Grant, 18, a Black male from New Bern, was shot late on the night of Friday, May 23, 2025, after police first responded to a ShotSpotter alert near Queen Anne Lane around 11:15 p.m. Minutes later, at 11:17 p.m., a 911 call reported another shooting near the intersection of McKinley Avenue and Charles Street. Officers and EMS found Grant there with a gunshot wound and rushed him to CarolinaEast Medical Center. He did not survive; funeral records list his passing as May 24, 2025, the day after the attack.
Police said the McKinley Avenue shooting appeared targeted and later characterized the homicide as gang-related, noting that Grant had been the focus of prior gang activity in New Bern’s Pembroke area. Investigators also explored whether the ShotSpotter scene on Queen Anne Lane was connected to the fatal attack that followed, gathering shell casings and appealing for witnesses to come forward. Community tributes and local reporting in the days after his death remembered an 18-year-old whose life ended amid a spate of youth violence that had shaken the city.
As of the most detailed public updates, police did not identify a suspect or announce arrests specifically in Grant’s killing. In subsequent weeks, officers executed a warrant on Watson Avenue tied to a May 2025 murder investigation; local media noted the operation might relate to Grant’s case but could not confirm the connection. Authorities continued to ask for tips while emphasizing the gang-related context of the homicide.
