Local

Correctional officer, father of 2 killed in shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Murdered one month before his wedding, a corrections officer and father of was two was shot and killed feet from his southwest Charlotte home.
 
Bias Easley was a corrections officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, near Wadesboro.
 
Police haven't arrested his shooter and there are big questions about what led up to Thursday night's murder.
 
Easley's father, Joseph Easley, showed Channel 9 a photo of Bias Easley and two of his sons.
 
Thursday night, they planned on watching the NBA finals together, but before tipoff, Joseph Easley got a knock at his door.
 
He was told his son, Bias Easley, had been shot and killed outside his southwest Charlotte apartment.
 
"You don't just kill a man and stand back down and act like you're not out there. We're going to find you," said Joseph Easley.
 
Police were canvassing an area near a convenience store down the street from the murder scene. Later, officers returned to the High Meadow Condos, where it appeared they were searching for someone but wouldn't tell WSOC TV their reason for returning. 
     
Family members shared photos of Bias Easley with his 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. 
 
"He was a loving father. He loved his children, he loved his family, he loved his brothers," said his fiancée's sister, Dewona McCormick.
 
Family members said they believe the murder was random, stemming from something that happened at the convenience store earlier this week. At the prison where he worked, one officer said Friday they just want to know why someone would do this. 
 
"He served the community, you know. He was a correctional officer, he loved his job and they stole that. They destroyed a strong family. It will never be the same without him. He was the glue to the family," McCormick said.
 
Channel 9 learned police viewed surveillance video from the convenience store. There has been no word tonight whether that provided any clues into who is responsible.