On the early morning of December 7, 2025, a violent incident unfolded in Asheville, North Carolina, resulting in the untimely death of 19-year-old Antonio Tremaine Carson Jr. Officers from the Asheville Police Department responded to a call regarding a shooting on the 200 block of Amboy Road. Upon their arrival, authorities discovered Carson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite the emergency response, the young man succumbed to his injuries at the scene, marking the city's sixth homicide of the year.
The investigation moved swiftly, leading to the identification and subsequent arrest of a suspect, 22-year-old Hayden Ray Shores. Reports indicate that Shores himself had contacted emergency services to report the shooting. Police took him into custody, charging him with first-degree murder and discharging a firearm within city limits. Following his arrest, Shores was booked into the Buncombe County Detention Center where he was held without bond pending his legal proceedings.
Antonio Carson Jr., who was just weeks away from his twentieth birthday, was remembered by those who knew him as a protective and loyal figure with a smile that could light up a room. A natural leader among his peers, he enjoyed playing video games and watching documentaries, but his life primarily revolved around his two-year-old daughter, Kailani Grace Carson. His death added another layer of tragedy to his family's history, as he had previously lost his fiancée, the mother of his child. He left behind a grieving circle of relatives, including his parents and six younger siblings, who held a service in his memory later that month.
