CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating the city’s 49th homicide of the year after a man was shot and killed Monday night outside a home in University City.
[IMAGES: CMPD investigating city's 49th homicide of 2017]
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. on Atkins Ridge Drive, near University City Boulevard and Back Creek Church Road.
Officers responded to an assault call and when they arrived found 63-year-old Harold Jones, who had been shot, lying on the ground outside a home.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers spoke with the suspect, Daryl Roby, at the scene and arrested him.
Police said the initial call indicated that the shooting was a suicide but detectives were able to determine it was, in fact, a homicide.
Detectives told Channel 9 that Roby and Jones are relatives and were involved in an altercation when the shooting happened. Neighbors said they are stepfather and son.
Ron Kimble, a former assistant city manager whose daughter was murdered five years ago by an ex-boyfriend, is a strong advocate fighting domestic violence.
Kimble said that despite all the education efforts, domestic violence is increasing.
“It's a tragedy that occurs far too often in Charlotte and across the country,” Kimble said. "Domestic violence can be between two brothers. It can be between a father and a son. It can be between a father and stepson."
Charlotte homicides are galloping along at a clip that is more than double from last year. Domestic violence is fueling the increase.
Of the 49 homicides, police say 11 were domestic related, which does not include Monday night’s or Sunday’s deaths.
Kimble's foundation, which is named after his daughter, has been trying to get intimate partner violence under control through education.
"Teach young girls how to spot the early warning signs of abuse and to teach young boys how not to turn to physical dominance and control,” Kimble said.
Roby, 22, has been charged with murder.
Jones' death was the second homicide CMPD detectives have investigated in two days. In the other slaying, Tommy Maddox was killed on Kimmerly Woods Drive in east Charlotte Sunday. No arrests have been made in that case.
The 49 homicides in the city so far in 2017 is nearly double the amount from the same time last year when Charlotte had 25.
[PHOTOS: Homicide victims of 2017]
[PHOTOS: Suspects in 2017 homicide cases]
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