A night out at a bowling alley in Matthews, North Carolina, ended in tragedy on Sunday, March 29, 2026, with the death of 43-year-old Travis Marcus Lock. Lock, a White/Caucasian male, was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Lucky Strike on Brigman Road just before 1 a.m. The incident began with a dispute inside the bowling alley that escalated and moved outside.
According to police, the altercation involved several individuals.
Court documents indicate that the events leading to the fatal shooting began with a planned bowling outing. Ray Jevon Teasley, 48, and his girlfriend had arranged to go to Lucky Strike with Lock's girlfriend. When they arrived to pick her up, Lock was not there. Later, at the bowling alley, Lock reportedly became upset and repeatedly called Teasley because his girlfriend would not answer her phone. When Teasley's group went outside, Lock was waiting for them and was described as aggressive. The verbal altercation continued as they walked toward their cars, at which point Lock allegedly punched Teasley in the face.
Following the punch, Teasley reportedly retrieved a gun from his vehicle. He told investigators that he saw something silver in Lock's hand and, feeling threatened, fired a single shot, closing his eyes as he did so. Lock was struck in the upper left torso and was pronounced dead at the scene, despite life-saving measures performed by responding officers. Teasley fled the scene after the shooting but later turned himself in to the police. He has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and was taken into custody at the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Family and friends remembered Travis Lock, known as "Big Trav," as a man with a large personality who was the life of the party. His mother, Patricia Lock, described him as a joker who loved to smile and had turned his life around in recent years. She noted that he was a father and her only son. A GoFundMe campaign was set up to help his family with funeral expenses. Funeral services for Travis Lock were scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Roseboro's Mortuary in Charlotte.
