Court records outline how investigators followed stolen cars, surveillance footage and arrests after gunfire struck four occupied homes.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A trail of stolen vehicles, surveillance footage and cellphone evidence helped investigators reconstruct the events surrounding a northwest Charlotte shooting that killed 4-year-old Caleb Flax and led to five arrests, according to police and court records.
The records describe a sequence beginning days before the Sept. 20 shooting and continuing after the gunfire stopped. Investigators say seven armed people arrived on Grassy Patch Lane in two stolen vehicles shortly before 3 a.m., opened fire on occupied homes and fled. More than 80 rounds were fired into four houses and three vehicles, according to court documents cited in local reports.
Caleb was struck inside one of the homes and taken to Levine Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead that morning. An adult woman in a neighboring home suffered serious injuries. Police said other adults and children were inside the residences hit by gunfire but were not physically injured.
Investigators began building part of their timeline through a stolen Mercedes-Benz. Detectives said an iPhone had been paired with the vehicle’s infotainment system on Sept. 15. Police later traced the phone to a 16-year-old who became one of the teenagers charged with murder in Caleb’s death.
According to court records, the Mercedes was on Bryant Terrace Drive near Wilkinson Boulevard on Sept. 19 before being driven to a party at a short-term rental that evening. A teenager later told detectives that several people at the gathering discussed firing at windows in retaliation for an earlier shooting. Authorities had not publicly identified the earlier shooting referenced in that account.
Investigators said the Mercedes left the area around 12:30 a.m. Sept. 20 and stopped at a 7-Eleven on Wilkinson Boulevard. Surveillance video showed a person paying cash for fuel while wearing a gray-and-black hoodie, police said. Officers later recovered what they described as the same hoodie from the vehicle.
Shortly before 3 a.m., investigators say two stolen vehicles approached Grassy Patch Lane with their headlights off. Court records state that seven armed people got out and fired at least 84 shots into the neighborhood before leaving. Traffic cameras then recorded the vehicles near Sunset Road and Beatties Ford Road at about 3:01 a.m.
Police said the vehicles were later abandoned and people involved in the shooting returned to the gathering in a Jeep. Detectives located one vehicle of interest Sept. 21 and determined it had been stolen. Authorities recovered another stolen vehicle connected to the investigation in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on Sept. 30.
The investigation also led to an accessory charge against 22-year-old Terrance Jackson. An arrest affidavit cited by local news reports alleges that one of the teenage suspects contacted Jackson after the shooting for help getting a new key programmed for a stolen Infiniti. Investigators allege the vehicle was later taken to Bishopville, South Carolina, and sold for $1,200. Jackson is accused of helping with events after the shooting and has not been accused of firing at the homes.
Police have announced murder charges against four teenagers: Ar’montae Johnson, 16; Antonio Kahron Ladson, 17; Jaylen Vontae Barber, 16; and Ian Garland, 17. The teenagers also face various additional charges, including attempted murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling and conspiracy. The accusations remain allegations unless proven in court.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the investigation remains active. Detectives from the department’s Homicide Unit, Crime Gun Suppression Team and Violent Criminal Apprehension Team have worked with other law enforcement agencies as authorities continue trying to identify everyone responsible for the Sept. 20 attack.
Author note: Last updated October 1, 2026.