Tag: Charlotte homicide

A Charlotte man found shot multiple times outside a city child care facility last week was killed after he had interrupted a crime in progress hours earlier, a police affidavit reports.

The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15, in the parking lot of Tender Hearts Child Care on North Sharon Amity Road, and two men have been charged, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a Dec. 19 case update.

Investigators believe 44-year-old Albert Lowery was targeted for confronting a suspected thief at the 24-hour child care operation two hours earlier.

Lowery’s wife is the one who found his body, according to the affidavit.

“The 911 caller, Jessica Moss-Lowery, stated to police that she was inside the incident location and overheard gunshots,” officials say.

“When she called her husband, Albert, on the phone and he didn’t answer, she went outside to check on him. Ms. Lowery located her husband in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, unresponsive. … The victim had been shot multiple times.”

Lowery was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The shooting happened more than two hours after he caught a man trying to take the catalytic converter off an SUV in the parking lot, police said. Catalytic converters are prized by scrapyards for their “precious metals,” experts say.

Surveillance footage confirmed Lowery was armed when he confronted a man who is seen under an SUV in the parking lot, the affidavit reports.

Lowery’s intervention prompted the man to get into a black Honda Civic parked beside the SUV and leave. Investigators were able to link the Honda to two suspects, the affidavit says. The car was found at a home an eight-minute drive from the crime scene, police said.

Details of how the incident turned deadly later in the night have not been released.

The suspects have been identified as Rethanachantra Em, 33, and Borein Ngiem, 32, CMPD said in a news release. Both live in Charlotte.

Em is charged with:

• First-degree murder
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• Attempted theft of motor vehicle parts
• Felony conspiracy

Ngiem is charged with:

• First-degree murder
• Felony conspiracy
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

An obituary reports Lowery was a father and grandfather raised in Pageland, South Carolina.

“Al was known for his very big heart, his ability to give good advice, and his gift for being a great listener,” his obituary states.

“A true man’s man, Al carried himself with strength, loyalty, and quiet wisdom, always showing up for those he loved.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 7:09 AM.