‘A great life gone too soon’: Mother mourns Lyft driver killed in Charlotte shooting spree

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Charlotte mother is sharing her heartbreak after losing her 34-year-old son, Shabazz “Messiah” Grant, who was fatally shot last week in a string of violent events that also left two others dead, including the suspected gunman.

Grant’s mother described the moment her life changed forever in an online post.

“On October 23 my life as Messiah’s mother was forever changed,” she wrote. “It was a normal day for my son. He had done his usual shift at Amazon, his full-time job, and afterwards logged on to do some Lyft rides as he sometimes did on the side.”

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, the shootings began around 4:15 p.m. on October 23 near North Hoskins Road and Brookshire Boulevard in northwest Charlotte.

Two men, Grant and Justin Westbrook Carlton, were both shot while in their vehicles. Carlton died at the scene, and Grant was rushed to Atrium Health’s trauma unit in critical condition.

Police later identified the suspect as 28-year-old Joseph Andrade, who they said tried to carjack multiple drivers before forcing his way into a nearby home and kidnapping a woman. Officers eventually located Andrade, who allegedly fired at them during a chase that ended with a crash near Freedom Drive and Morehead Street.

CMPD officers returned fire, killing Andrade.

Authorities said the kidnapped woman escaped the situation unharmed. The State Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the officer-involved shooting, while CMPD continues to investigate the original homicide, assault, and kidnapping cases.

Grant’s mother said she was initially unable to locate her son following the shooting and learned he had been listed as a “John Doe” at the hospital.

“I arrived to one of the most heartbreaking sights a mother could ever see,” she wrote. “My son had been shot in the head where on October 26 he succumbed to his injuries.”

She described Grant as a “great son, dad, brother, uncle, nephew, and friend” who loved working out, was known for his sense of style, and “met no strangers.”

Grant’s mother said she made the decision to donate his organs so that others could live.

“Because his body was in top shape, I made the hard decision to make him a donor,” she shared. “I, in good conscience, know that if he could help hundreds of people, he would.”

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