Sean Nicholas Watson, 48, was found with a gunshot wound just after midnight on Thursday, August 28, 2025, on Hoskins Mill Lane in Charlotte’s Freedom Division. Officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call rushed him to Atrium Health with life-threatening injuries. He died on Saturday, August 30, 2025, two days after the shooting.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department opened a homicide investigation and identified a suspect: 40-year-old David Gary Graves. On Sunday, August 31, 2025, CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team located and arrested Graves; after an interview he was booked into the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and charged with murder and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. Investigators say early reports indicated the confrontation involved an attempted robbery and that the timeline from the initial call through transport and the later confirmation of death was documented.

The investigation is active and the next of kin for Sean Nicholas Watson has been notified. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.