In the afternoon of May 19, 2026, a 16-year-old high school student named Joseph Samuel was with a witness on Tom Hunter Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, when they were approached by a man carrying a black backpack. The man, identified as 28-year-old Taquawn Tykeem Lewis, also known as "Buck," allegedly moved the backpack to his chest, pulled out a rifle, and confronted them. A single gunshot was heard, and Joseph was struck. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. Emergency services were called to the location near North Tryon Street around 2:38 p.m., where they found Joseph unresponsive with a gunshot wound. He was transported to Atrium Health Main, where he was pronounced dead. Joseph was a student at Sun Valley High School in Union County.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Unit immediately began an investigation. Detectives found a spent. 556 caliber cartridge casing at the scene and noted that Joseph had also been pistol-whipped. A key piece of evidence came from a witness who was with Joseph at the time of the shooting. This witness's account was corroborated by surveillance video from a nearby business, which showed a man with a black backpack approaching and then fleeing after the shooting. Investigators were able to identify Taquawn Lewis as the suspect through a combination of the witness statement, the surveillance footage, and a previous police report that documented his nickname. Lewis is a convicted felon with a prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, for which he was sentenced to 73 to 100 months in prison.
Just two days after the shooting, on May 21, 2026, Taquawn Lewis was located and arrested in Bostic, North Carolina, with the assistance of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. He was transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office and has been charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. While a motive for the shooting has not been publicly released, court documents indicate the act was committed with "malice aforethought." Joseph Samuel's family described him as a "bright and kind-hearted young man who was full of life." The case against Taquawn Lewis is now pending in the court system, with the investigation still considered active and ongoing.
