Man charged with shooting and killing woman outside of Kannapolis convenience store

Kannapolis Police have announced an arrest in the case of a woman who was killed in what police believe to be a drive-by shooting at a Kannapolis convenience store Sunday afternoon.

Police said the shooting happened around 1 p.m. at the Express Food Mart at the intersection of Wright Avenue and Lane Street.

The woman, now identified as Lena Morgan, 24,of Concord, died at the scene, according to police.

Kannapolis investigators were able to learn this incident was a drive-by shooting that occurred in the parking lot of the store. They were able to quickly obtain information that lead them to identify Nolan Kiel Graves, 22, also of Concord, as a suspect in the homicide.

Graves was located in Charlotte last night by officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and was arrested without incident. Graves is charged with first degree murder and is in custody in the Cabarrus County Jail.

This was not a random shooting based on the investigation.

“I’ve lived here for 38 years and nothing like that has happened until the last couple of years,” said neighbor Debbie Parsons.

Parsons lives in one of the many house near the Lane Street Express store. She says there have been some incidents here in the last few years, but a woman being shot to death in the parking lot in the early afternoon was a shock.

“I came home from church and seen the gas station marked off, 15 or more police cars around there,” Parsons added.

Kannapolis Police credited the public with providing information that helped bring about a quick arrest in the case.

“If you have information about something, don’t be afraid to call the police and share that with us. It makes us successful in what we do. It’s a community partnership when we can work with the community to solve crimes like this,” said Lt. Chris Hill.