PINEVILLE, N.C. — A five-year-old boy was killed and his father was arrested on a first-degree murder charge after a stabbing at an apartment complex in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, police said.
Officers with the Pineville Police Department responded shortly after midnight on July 9 to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at the Sabal Point Apartments, where they found the child suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to police. Officers provided emergency medical care and transported the boy to a hospital in a patrol vehicle, but he was later pronounced dead.
Police identified the boy’s father, 31-year-old Jehaaz-Akil Khaliq Echoles, as the suspect and said he was taken into custody after the incident. Echoles was charged with first-degree murder and booked into the Mecklenburg County jail, authorities said.
Pineville Police Chief Corey Copley said investigators were treating the case as a domestic incident and that the child’s mother was present when the attack occurred. Another child who was inside the apartment was not injured, police said.
According to information released by police and court records cited by local media, the boy’s mother told investigators that Echoles entered the apartment and went into the child’s room before the stabbing. She later found the child injured and called 911, according to an arrest affidavit reported by local outlets.
Authorities have not publicly released a motive for the killing. Police said the investigation remains active, and search warrants were obtained as detectives continued collecting evidence.
Echoles has previously faced assault-related cases, according to court records cited by media reports. Those records include a prior assault conviction and additional pending allegations, though the allegations are separate from the current homicide charge and have not been adjudicated.
“This is very tragic,” Copley said, adding that investigators were focused on carrying out their duties while handling the case.
Echoles remained in custody without bond, according to reports. His next court appearance was scheduled for later in July, while the homicide investigation continued.
