Man charged with killing high school senior after bullet fired through bedroom wall

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder, accused of shooting and killing a teenager in Kannapolis last week.

Jermiah Howard was charged with first-degree murder.

(Howard)

Emergency crews were called around 1 a.m., Jan. 23 to a home on Cottage Road and found 18-year-old Kevon Cousar, who had been shot.

Police and firefighters tried to save Cousar, who was a senior at A.L. Brown High School, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said Cousar was in his bedroom when the bullet came through the wall and hit him in the chest.

Channel 9 crews could see crime scene tape around the mobile home as distraught family members gathered nearby.

Neighbors heard the shots and watched as police marked the bullet hole that went into Cousar's room.

"I loved him. That was my little brother too, as well as everybody else’s,” neighbor Kasidy Hayden said.

Hayden described Cousar as kind and said he had no enemies.

"People loved this kid. We watched him grow up since he was 4 years old. Like, he didn’t deserve this,” Hayden said.

Counselors at A.L. Brown High School were meeting with grieving classmates and staff throughout the day last Thursday.

Abigail Morales said the two went to school together for the last 10 years and, at times, shared rides.

"I asked my teacher, ‘Is it true?’ She said, ‘Yeah, it’s true,’ and that's when I completely lost it,” Morales said.

She left school early and went to the crime scene, hoping to see something that would explain everything.

Morales said, "Nobody understands, like, what is going on? Like, what happened to him?”

Police said this is still an active investigation and anyone with information about the crime should call them at 704-920-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 704-932-7463.

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

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