On January 10, 2026, 21-year-old Zachary Smith was shot in an apartment in the 4900 block of Pepys Lane in Wilmington, North Carolina. Officers found him shortly after 3 a.m.; he was treated at the scene and taken to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. He was born in Raleigh on December 14, 2004, went by Zac, and graduated from Sanderson High School in 2023. In January he had just started an HVAC program at Cape Fear Community College; he previously worked as an electrical apprentice and for a moving company. Family and friends remember his kind heart, wit, love of working out, creative cooking, and his two younger brothers.

After a weekend of investigation, detectives, in consultation with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office, arrested 21-year-old Charles Lane and charged him with involuntary manslaughter. At his first court appearance on January 14 a judge set secured bond at $50,000 and Lane was released; a future court date was scheduled for January 29. The investigation into the circumstances of the shooting is ongoing.

Did anyone in the Wilmington area know Zac or have information about what happened that night?