Woman arrested, ‘armed and dangerous man’ sought in killing of NC college student
Police arrested a woman and were searching for a man considered to be “armed and dangerous” in connection with the killing of a North Carolina college student.
Officers found 19-year-old Omari Alexander of Concord dead in a car at a Hickory apartment complex early Saturday. He had multiple gunshot wounds, and paramedics pronounced him dead, police Capt. Jeff Young said in a news release.
Alexander was a sophomore at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, where he also played football.
Late Monday, police said they arrested 20-year-old Hailee Maureen Melanson and charged her with felony accessory after the fact of murder. She was in the Catawba County Jail without bail on Tuesday.
Police issued a warrant charging 21-year-old Quavius Shamond Izard with first-degree murder. “Izard should be considered to be armed and dangerous,” Young said in the release.
Anyone with information on Izard’s whereabouts should contact the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551 or Investigator David Moore at 828-261-2686 or dfmoore@hickorync.gov.
Police did not disclose what evidence led to identifying Melanson and Izard as suspects.
Alexander was a 6-foot-1, 195-pound tight end, according to his bio on the school athletic department website. In high school, he played for Mallard Creek in Charlotte.
Responding to a call of shots fired, police said they found Alexander in a black 2015 Chevrolet Camaro in the parking lot of the Civitan Court Apartments, in the 400 block of 17th Avenue NE.
Alexander “was unresponsive” when officers approached the car just before 1 a.m., according to the release. The Camaro’s engine was running.
The apartments are off the Lenoir-Rhyne campus, school officials said on Twitter, adding that “Lenoir-Rhyne is grieving the loss” of Alexander.
Alexander’s family held a private memorial service in Lenoir-Rhyne’s P.E. Monroe Auditorium on Monday morning.
Mike Palmieri was head football coach at Mallard Creek High when Alexander played there.
“The sky was the limit for him,” Palmieri told WBTV. “I know we used to talk about him being in the medical field and wanting to do that. He was so smart, his future was bright.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Woman arrested, ‘armed and dangerous man’ sought in killing of NC college student."