On May 28, 2023, at about 8:22 p.m., deputies responded to a reported shooting at a residence on Old Beatty Ford Road near Rockwell, North Carolina. They found 23-year-old Matthew Tyler King on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound; emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. King was born May 22, 2000, in Concord and is survived by his parents Richard Neil King and Kathy Williamson King and siblings Chandler King and Kailey Campbell. He was remembered as a hardworking man who enjoyed operating heavy machinery and who was devoted to his family.

Investigators say King had visited the home of 49-year-old Jeremy Calvin Kepley, an argument occurred, and King allegedly seized a firearm and pointed it at Kepley. Kepley then retrieved a nearby sawed-off shotgun and fired one shot that struck King. Authorities concluded Kepley’s actions were justified as self-defense against a deadly threat, though Kepley faced a charge related to possession of the modified shotgun because it was illegal. A memorial service was planned to honor King’s life.

Did anyone in the Rockwell area know Matthew or have information about the events that night?