On the early morning of December 15, 2025, a tragic sequence of events unfolded in the parking lot of a daycare center in Charlotte, North Carolina, leading to the death of 44-year-old male Albert Lowery. Lowery was seated in his vehicle outside Tender Hearts Child Care on North Sharon Amity Road when he was targeted in what authorities described as a retaliatory ambush. The incident began hours earlier, around 12:30 a.m., when Lowery interrupted a crime in progress.
He had confronted two individuals attempting to steal a catalytic converter from an Acura SUV in the daycare's parking lot. Armed at the time, Lowery successfully scared off the would-be thieves, who fled the scene in an older black Honda Civic.
Believing the danger had passed, Lowery remained at the location where he and his wife, Jessica Moss-Lowery, were connected to the business. However, approximately two and a half hours later, surveillance footage captured a white sedan entering the parking lot and stopping directly in front of Lowery’s vehicle. The occupants opened fire, discharging multiple rounds into his car before speeding away. Inside the daycare, Jessica heard the gunshots and immediately attempted to call her husband. When he did not answer, she rushed outside to check on him and discovered him unresponsive in the driver's seat, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency responders transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Homicide detectives launched an investigation that quickly linked the earlier theft attempt to the shooting. By tracking the movement of the suspect vehicles through traffic cameras and analyzing digital evidence, police identified two suspects: 33-year-old Rethanachantra Em and 32-year-old Borein Ngiem. Investigators discovered text messages between the two men coordinating their movements before the shooting, as well as messages instructing one another to "stay lowkey" in the hours following the murder. Further evidence revealed that the suspects had searched for news reports regarding the homicide and attempted to alter the appearance of the black Honda Civic used in the initial theft attempt.
On the Thursday following the shooting, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested both Em and Ngiem. They were charged with first-degree murder and felony conspiracy. Rethanachantra Em faced additional charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and attempted theft of motor vehicle parts. Borein Ngiem was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The investigation highlighted the brazen nature of the crime, where the suspects allegedly returned to the scene specifically to target the man who had earlier prevented them from committing a theft.
