Hickory Police ask for assistance with double homicide cold case
On Sunday, May 10, 2020, at approximately 10:40 p.m., Hickory Police Officers responded to the Save More Convenience Store located at 1665 1st Avenue SW Hickory, N.C., after receiving a 911 call from a bystander who stated that two males had been shot. Upon arrival, officers observed a silver 2008 Chevrolet Malibu parked next to the gas pumps. The officers approached the vehicle and found 20-year-old Xzavion Rashawn Watts (DOB: 7/26/1999) and 16-year-old Damarion Isaiah Sharpe (DOB: 3/22/2004) seated in the rear passenger area and both injured from multiple gunshot wounds. Catawba County EMS responded and pronounced Sharpe dead at the scene and Watts was transported to Frye Regional Medical Center for treatment where he died due to his injuries.
Watts and Sharpe had traveled to the Save More Convenience Store with two females after attending a cookout at a family member's home. The female driver and female passenger exited the vehicle and walked toward the convenience store. A black male wearing a gray coat with the hood pulled up and black pants walked from the rear of the store toward the Chevrolet Malibu that was parked next to the gas pumps. The male opened the front passenger door and fired multiple rounds from a handgun towards the rear passenger area, hitting both Watts and Sharpe. The shooter fled south toward the rear of the store.
Investigators believe that someone in the community has information that could lead to the arrest of the shooter and provide peace for Xzavion and Damarion’s family. The family has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the identity, arrest, and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the murders of Xzavion Watts and Damarion Sharpe.
Anyone with information regarding this ongoing investigation is encouraged to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551 or contact Investigator Tammie Johnson at 828-261-2619.
Xzavion Watts Damarion Sharpe