Mary Tarr was 20 when she was killed on August 22, 2016. The shooting occurred in the early morning on Pineville-Matthews Road at Baybrook Lane. Tarr and another woman, 24, were found in a car that had been involved in a crash; both had been shot. Mary Tarr was pronounced dead at the scene and the other woman was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries.

Investigators identified 23-year-old Jalen Marquise Anderson and his 24-year-old brother Jerron Rashad Anderson in connection with the shooting. Jalen Anderson was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and discharging a firearm into occupied property inflicting serious bodily injury; Jerron Anderson was also arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. Friends of Tarr had warned her about Jalen Anderson, who was dating both victims, and family members described the aftermath as devastating.

In April 2017 Jalen Anderson accepted a plea deal admitting to murdering Mary Tarr and received a sentence of at least 20 years for second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The case against Jerron Anderson was set for trial in February 2018.