Police say the assault was targeted and the suspect is being held in jail.
CONCORD, N.C. — A Cabarrus County father is calling attention to a violent assault inside Carolina Mall after police say a man was beaten with a metal baseball bat and the suspect, Mohamed Adams Jr., was arrested and ordered held without bond.
Concord police have described the Feb. 21 attack as deliberate, saying the victim was not chosen at random. The case has moved quickly through early court steps, but key details remain unclear, including what led up to the confrontation inside the mall and whether investigators expect to seek additional charges beyond a felony assault count.
Police said the assault happened at about 9:45 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 21, inside Carolina Mall in Concord. Investigators said a man struck the victim several times with a baseball bat, leaving him with injuries that required hospital care. An arrest warrant described bruising across the victim’s body and a gash to the head, and it noted the possibility of broken bones. Concord police said the victim was treated at a hospital and released later the same day.
Officers and detectives focused on finding the suspect as they gathered information at the scene and reviewed the circumstances. A warrant for Mohamed Adams Jr. was issued the day of the attack, and he was taken into custody on Mon., Feb. 23, police said. Adams, 38, was charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury. Authorities booked him into the Cabarrus County jail, where he remained held as of the latest court records available on March 2.
Police said the evidence points to a targeted motive connected to the victim’s workplace. Concord police said the victim was a co-worker of Adams’ ex-girlfriend, and investigators believed that relationship led Adams to pick the victim. Officials have not released the victim’s name and have not said whether the victim knew Adams personally or had any prior contact with him outside the workplace link police described.
The most emotional account came from the victim’s father, Todd Brown, who said his adult son suffered injuries that went beyond what the family first understood. Brown said his son had a head wound and multiple contusions, including injuries affecting his ribs and lungs. He said the violence stopped only when other people noticed what was happening and moved toward the scene. Brown said he believes that interruption prevented the attack from turning fatal. “Had others not come out to see it and kind of scare the attacker off, I’m 99 percent sure my son wouldn’t be here today,” Brown said.
Brown said he is frustrated with what he sees as a mismatch between the brutality of the beating and the charge filed so far. Police charged Adams with assault inflicting serious bodily injury, a felony that can carry prison time if a defendant is convicted. Brown said the charge does not reflect what he believes was an attempt to kill his son. “It does not fit the attempted murder of my child,” Brown said. Investigators and prosecutors have not publicly responded to Brown’s criticism, and they have not said whether the case could be presented for higher charges.
In court, Adams faced early bond decisions that kept him in custody. Police said a magistrate initially denied bond after the arrest. In a later hearing, a judge also denied bond, citing what the judge called a significant criminal history and noting prior federal convictions. The denial means Adams is expected to stay in jail as the case proceeds, absent a later change by the court or an agreement that alters the custody status.
Officials have not publicly described what video footage, witness statements, or physical evidence drove the rapid identification of a suspect. Police also have not said whether the bat was recovered or where inside the mall the assault happened, such as near a particular entrance or corridor. Those gaps have fueled questions from community members about security and response, even as investigators continue to frame the incident as a personal, targeted act rather than a broader threat to shoppers.
Brown said his son’s recovery is expected to take four to six weeks and that the family is focused on healing while also pushing for accountability. He said the incident has changed how he thinks about everyday public places. “That’s what I want people to understand, this could happen to their child, it could happen to them,” Brown said, adding that he worries about others being harmed by someone with a criminal record.
As of Mon., March 2, court records listed Adams’ next appearance for March 10, and the case remained in its early stages while investigators and prosecutors continued to review evidence and potential next steps.
Author note: Last updated March 2, 2026.