Charlotte’s University City neighborhood is in shock after 19-year-old Jarren Felder was shot and killed early Sunday morning, November 23, 2025. The incident unfolded around 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of University City Boulevard and Robert D. Snyder Road, less than a mile from the UNC Charlotte campus where Jarren had just started his freshman year.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire. Officers found Jarren suffering from gunshot wounds in the parking lot of a convenience store. Despite immediate life-saving efforts by CMPD and MEDIC paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A second victim, a 20-year-old man, was shot in the leg and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made, and detectives are actively seeking surveillance footage and witnesses.
The shooting has left the Hickory Ridge High School and UNC Charlotte communities reeling. Jarren had graduated from Hickory Ridge in 2025 and was studying business administration, known on campus for his easy smile and willingness to help classmates. Friends describe him as the guy who always checked in, stayed late to study with someone struggling, and never let pride get in the way of kindness.
Jarren grew up in east Charlotte, where family barbecues, church on Sundays, and pickup basketball games shaped his grounded, hardworking spirit. He carried that same energy into everything he did: mowing lawns to save for college, volunteering at community cleanups, and making time for younger cousins who looked up to him.
Charlotte has lost a young man whose future was just beginning. Jarren Felder’s warmth, determination, and quiet leadership touched everyone around him, and his absence leaves a hole that words cannot fill.
The community is rallying around his family with prayer vigils, meal trains, and a growing memorial at the shooting site. Funeral arrangements will be announced soon. Until then, Charlotte holds tight to the memory of a 19-year-old who made the city a little brighter simply by being himself.