FBI Arrests Teen for Planning Knife Attack at Local Store

FBI Arrests Teen for Planning Knife Attack at Local Store

The US Department of Justice and US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced Friday that authorities had arrested an 18-year-old man who they say planned a New Year’s Eve attack using hammers and knives at a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in his hometown of Mint Hill.

Investigators believe the teen planned the attack in support of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) after speaking online with two undercover agents whom he believed to be representatives of the terror group. The teen has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

During a press conference on Friday, FBI representatives said agents had been aware of the suspect since as early as 2022 and had recommended that he undergo involuntary commitment for psychiatric treatment. Agents dropped their investigation into the the-child after he was ordered to stay off social media due to earlier incidents, though they became aware of some troubling new posts he made in early December 2025 and picked the investigation back up.

The suspect began conversing with an undercover agent whom he believed to be part of ISIS on Dec. 12. He allegedly told the agent, “I will do jihad soon,” and proclaimed he was “a soldier of the state,” referencing ISIS.

The criminal complaint was filed on Wednesday and unsealed Friday after the suspect appeared in federal court in Charlotte. A search warrant was served on his home in Mint Hill on Monday. The search turned up a handwritten document in which the suspect wrote that he hoped to target “20 to 21” victims before running at responding police officers so he could “die a martyr.”

One of the FBI representatives at Friday’s press conference explained that agents followed the suspect through the holiday season to ensure that they could act if he showed signs of hurting anyone. The teen’s family has reportedly made efforts to hide knives and other weapons from him due to past dangerous behavior, though the search warrant turned up two hammers and two butcher knives hidden beneath his bed.

The teen hadn’t selected a specific location to carry out the planned attack, according to investigators, but hoped to scout out potential grocery stores and fast-food restaurants on New Year’s Eve to find the most crowded one.

The suspect remains in federal custody. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Sycamore Brewing to Close South End Taproom

Sycamore Brewing owner Sarah Taylor announced Tuesday that the company will shut the doors of its large South End taproom on Jan. 5 “to allow space for processing, healing, and beginning the work of reimagining this community space,” promising to share more details on a planned reopening in the new year.

Taylor’s husband and co-founder Justin Brigham, whom she’s now begun divorce proceedings against, was arrested outside of a home in Stanly County in December where he’s been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl whom he’s believed to have met on Snapchat.

“I know these events have shaken trust deeply, stirring anger, sadness, and disbelief across our community. I am feeling those emotions profoundly too,” Taylor wrote. “I am also committed to building a new future for Sycamore – one that honors the extraordinary people who make this brewery what it is: our talented brewers, taproom team, and every individual who pours heart into every pint.”

You can read Taylor’s full “Letter to Our Community” at the Sycamore website.

NC AG Sues Trump Administration for Withholding Education Funding

NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for canceling $50 million in education grants to 18 NC school districts, he announced in a press release on Wednesday.

The Democratic attorney general accuses the US Department of Education (USDE) of unlawfully terminating a Full-Service Community Schools grant that was being used in schools across North Carolina to support approximately 23,000 students, including in counties heavily impacted by Helene.

The grant recipients learned on Dec. 12 that the funding would be cut on Dec. 31 because the USDE suspected the schools of promoting policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. The grants were approved by Congress in 2023 under the Biden administration.

Jackson said the sweeping cuts will force schools to shut down programs and potentially lay off staff in the middle of the school year.

“Our kids deserve better. A surprise cut of nearly $50 million from rural schools, with virtually no notice and no allegation of misuse, is unlawful and harmful,” Jackson stated. “The Department of Education approved these programs, allowed schools to build them, and now it’s trying to pull the rug out from under dozens of rural communities.”

Final Weekend of the Year Proves Deadly for Drivers

Three people were killed and two more seriously injured in two separate car wrecks on Saturday, Dec. 27, both of which occurred in south Charlotte and were the result of speeding.

The first incident happened around 10 a.m., when first responders were called to a single vehicle collision with injuries on Carmel Road near the Woodbridge neighborhood, where they found a white 2022 Honda CRV SUV off the roadway and its driver, David Patrick O’Neill, unresponsive in the driver seat with life-threatening injuries. Medic transported O’Neill to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Speed is suspected to be a contributing factor for this crash.

In the above map of deaths due to traffic-related incidents in Charlotte in 2025, red markers signify a person killed in their car, black markers signify pedestrian deaths, purple markers signify motorcycle and moped deaths, yellow markers signify pedestrians killed by trains, and green markers signify deaths involving micro-mobility vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, skateboards and wheelchairs.

Then around 7:46 p.m. that night, another wreck occurred on Ardrey Kell Road near the Stone Creek Ranch neighborhood, where Lorin Manley, driving a Honda CR-V SUV, collided with Jason Scott, driving a BMW 335i. Lorin and her rear-right passenger, Gloria Manley, were killed in the wreck, while a juvenile passenger also suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. Scott was also transported with serious injuries. It’s unclear how the collision occurred or who caused it, though speed is believed to be a factor.

Those wrecks brought the total number of traffic-related fatalities tracked by Queen City Nerve on Charlotte streets in 2025 to 67, a decrease from the 85 we tracked in 2024.

LIEAP Application Period Begins

New Year’s Day marked the start of the application period for Mecklenburg County’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, or LIEAP, which helps households save up to $500 on their energy bills.

If approved, a one-time payment of $300, $400 or $500 will be made directly to the applicant’s utility company. Households must include at least one eligible US citizen or legal resident, be responsible for covering heating costs in their home, and take in annual income at or below 150% (60 years of age or older) or 130% (under 60 years old) of the federal poverty level.

Applicants must provide proper identification, a utility bill in their name, their Social Security number and proof of income.

Residents can apply online at North Carolina ePASS or in person either at the Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center on Freedom Drive in west Charlotte or the Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center on Stitt Road in east Charlotte.