Malik Boyd was 20 when his body was found on April 21, 2022, near Albemarle Road Elementary School in Charlotte. Officers were dispatched about 6:30 a.m. to a report of a suspicious person near the 7800 block of Riding Trail Road. Boyd’s body showed apparent trauma and he was pronounced dead at the scene; investigators determined he had been shot to death.

A 16-year-old was arrested on April 29, 2022, and charged with first-degree murder; the juvenile’s name has not been released because of their age. Boyd’s father, Claude Lucas, has said he believes his son and the teen were members of the same gang and has criticized the district attorney’s decision to offer a plea deal that reduced the charge to manslaughter. The CMPD Homicide Unit continues to investigate.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.