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Pair accused of shooting, killing security guard at east Charlotte arcade

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police have arrested two people accused of shooting and killing a security guard early Tuesday morning at an adult arcade in east Charlotte.

Officials said 36-year-old Gregory Moffitt has been charged with murder and possession of a firearm by felon.

[IMAGES: Slain security guard is Charlotte's 99th homicide victim of 2019]

Noelle Blount, 38, has been charged with murder.

Officers responded around 5:40 a.m. to a call about shots being fired at the La Casa arcade at a strip mall on East WT Harris Boulevard near Milton Road.

When they got to the scene, police found a man who had been shot. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police identified the victim as 51-year-old Askia Toure Abdullah Alkebulan. Investigators told Channel 9 he was a security guard at the arcade.

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A woman Channel 9 spoke with said she heard about three gunshots just before 6 a.m. in the strip mall.

Channel 9 crews could see crime scene tape up throughout the strip mall parking lot as detectives investigated. They were speaking with workers at the arcade and reviewing surveillance video to get an accurate timeline of what happened.

Authorities have not said what led to the shooting.

The slaying is Charlotte's 99th homicide of 2019.

[WATCH: CMPD chief sits down one-on-one with Channel 9]

"There’s not a number of violent crimes that we’ll say, 'That’s OK'. So we’re uncomfortable once we have one homicide during the year," CMPD Major Ryan Butler said.

Channel 9 has covered a number of shootings at arcade businesses in Charlotte this year.

[PAST COVERAGE: Police investigating 2nd shooting at Charlotte arcade in over a month]

[PAST COVERAGE: Robber injured in shootout with security guard outside Charlotte arcade]

In June, we told you about two shootings at arcades in the same week. In both cases, police said security guards shot at would-be robbers.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.