Police said the suspect forced his way into the Pineville home before the child suffered fatal injuries.
PINEVILLE, N.C. — A 31-year-old father has been charged with first-degree murder after his 5-year-old son suffered fatal injuries inside a Pineville apartment early Thursday, police and court records said.
Jehaaz-Akil Khaliq Echoles was arrested shortly after the July 9 attack and booked into the Mecklenburg County jail. A judge denied him bond during his first court appearance and appointed a public defender to represent him.
The killing occurred shortly after midnight at an apartment complex on Sabal Park Drive. Pineville police responded after receiving what Chief Corey Copley described as a frantic 911 call from the boy’s mother, who was at the apartment when the attack occurred.
According to an arrest affidavit, Echoles allegedly broke down the front door of an apartment where he did not live. He entered his son’s bedroom and closed the door behind him, the affidavit said. The child’s mother then heard a commotion coming from the room.
When the mother opened the bedroom door, Echoles ran from the room and the boy was bleeding and unresponsive, according to the court document. Police said officers arrived in less than a minute and immediately began providing emergency aid.
Officers placed the critically injured child in a police vehicle and drove him directly to a hospital rather than waiting for an ambulance, Copley said. The boy later died. Authorities had not publicly released his name as of Saturday.
Police did not identify the precise weapon allegedly used. Copley described it as a blunt-force cutting instrument. The affidavit said the child suffered injuries to his head, neck and arms, but authorities have not released further medical findings.
Another child was inside the apartment but was not physically injured, police said. The boy’s mother has cooperated with investigators. Authorities have not announced a suspected motive or said what led Echoles to go to the apartment that night.
Investigators arrested Echoles at a Taco Bell near Carolina Place Mall, about a mile and a half from the apartment. The arrest affidavit said he declined to speak with investigators and requested an attorney. Police obtained search warrants for the apartment and vehicles connected to the investigation.
Copley said officers had responded to an earlier incident involving the family this year, but police did not immediately release details about that call. Court records also showed Echoles had prior assault-related cases, though those earlier matters do not establish guilt in the new murder prosecution.
The first-degree murder case remains pending in Mecklenburg County. Echoles is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and authorities said the investigation into the child’s death is continuing.
Author note: Last updated July 11, 2026.