On September 21, 2023, at about 5:38 a.m., officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon in the 100 block of Park Fairfax Drive in Charlotte’s Freedom Division. Inside the apartment, 24-year-old Kwandarrius De’Markeith Montaviu Howze was found with apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members — including his mother and her four children, ages 2 to 11 — were in the apartment when someone fired into it; reports say Howze was asleep when he was struck.

His mother described waking to gunfire, directing the children to get on the floor, then finding her son downstairs struggling to breathe; she remained with him until he died. The family has expressed deep grief and fear for their safety, and the grandmother called him playful and friendly. No arrests have been announced and the suspect remains unidentified. Detective Fitch is assigned to the case and investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.

If anyone knew Kwandarrius or saw suspicious activity near Park Fairfax Drive the morning of September 21, 2023, please come forward with information.