Joseph Samuel, 16, a Sun Valley High School student, was fatally shot on the afternoon of May 19, 2026, on Tom Hunter Road near North Tryon Street in Charlotte. According to authorities, Joseph and a witness were approached by a man carrying a black backpack who moved the pack to his chest, produced a rifle and fired once. Emergency crews found Joseph unresponsive around 2:38 p.m.; he was transported to Atrium Health Main and pronounced dead. Investigators reported Joseph had been pistol-whipped and recovered a spent .556 caliber cartridge casing at the scene.

Detectives say surveillance video from a nearby business corroborated the witness account and showed a man with a black backpack fleeing after the shooting. Using the witness statement, the footage and a prior police report that included a nickname, investigators identified 28-year-old Taquawn Tykeem Lewis, known as Buck, as the suspect. Lewis, described in the file as a convicted felon with a prior assault with a deadly weapon conviction, was arrested in Bostic on May 21, 2026, and charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Court documents allege the act was committed with malice aforethought. Joseph’s family remembered him as bright and kind-hearted.

If anyone has information about what led to the shooting or saw activity on Tom Hunter Road that afternoon, please share what is known with investigators.