A downtown Wilmington night out on June 6, 2026 ended in fatal violence when 23-year-old Emir Moore was shot inside the Unhinged nightclub on North Front Street. First responders found Moore with a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene around 1:36 a.m. Friends and family remember him as sweet, quiet and hardworking; he graduated from New Hanover High School and played varsity football there.

Investigators from the Wilmington Police Department, assisted by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Pender County Sheriff’s Office, pursued leads in the days after the shooting. On June 10 authorities arrested 29-year-old Trayquan Maleak Hasty in Castle Hayne and charged him with first-degree murder and a misdemeanor concealed weapon charge; he was booked into the New Hanover County Detention Center and held without bond. Hasty was assigned a capital public defender and the next court date was scheduled for July 2.

Family members said they believe Emir was not the intended target and that he may have been killed while trying to protect someone else. If anyone was at Unhinged that night or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please come forward.