He went to work on a Monday night at the Taco Bell on Highway 74 in Indian Trail and never came home. Dantre’Veion De’anquon Hobbs was 23 years old, a Black/African American male, and a kitchen employee when a gunman came inside around 8:45 p.m. on October 13, 2025, walked past others, and opened fire on him. Deputies arrived to find Hobbs shot inside the restaurant; he died at the scene, and the store briefly closed as investigators collected evidence and interviewed witnesses. News of his killing rippled quickly through Union County and beyond, with memorial pages marking the date and place where his life was taken.
Detectives spent the night tracing leads and, by the following evening, announced the arrest of 22-year-old Gilecio Ritchie. Authorities said Ritchie fled after the shooting, but investigators identified him and took him into custody at his Indian Trail home less than 24 hours later. He was charged with murder, denied bond, and jailed in Union County as the case moved forward. Investigators described the attack as targeted—saying the assailant bypassed other customers and employees to reach Hobbs in the kitchen—while declining to release a motive.
