Christopher Charles {BSO}
A man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred on April 6 outside a gas station in Sunrise.
According to the Sunrise Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Northwest 60th Avenue shortly after midnight following a 911 call from a woman who reported hearing a gunshot while at the gas pumps.
The report shows that her family member had alerted her to a man lying in the road. Upon approaching the individual, the caller noticed a gunshot wound to the man’s head and reported that his chest was still moving.
First responders arrived to find the victim in the roadway suffering from a head wound. He was transported to Broward Health Medical Center by Sunrise Fire Rescue, but later succumbed to his injuries that same day.
Investigation records show surveillance video from nearby businesses helped detectives piece together the moments leading up to the shooting. Footage from Brotherhood Market and a nearby Mobil gas station captured the victim walking north on Northwest 60th Avenue, followed closely by a man later identified as Christopher Charles, 23, of Lauderhill. He was wearing black clothing with patches that resembled security or law enforcement insignias.
The video showed a physical altercation between the two men. The victim could be heard yelling, “GET OFF ME! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? LEAVE ME ALONE!” before a struggle ensued.
Incident report records show that the victim appeared to gain the upper hand for a moment. As he attempted to walk away, Charles drew a firearm and shot the victim once in the head.
After the shooting, Charles can be seen picking up an item from the ground and fleeing south on foot before getting into a gray Toyota Corolla and leaving the scene.
Detectives were able to track Charles’ vehicle using red light and license plate reader cameras, eventually identifying it by its license plate number. It was later found to be registered to a woman believed to be associated with Charles.
Surveillance and cellphone data confirmed that Charles was in the area of the shooting at the time it occurred, and detectives later recovered footage from a gated community where Charles worked as a security guard.
In the hours before the shooting, Charles was seen arriving at the community in the same gray Corolla and later departing toward the scene. Cellphone tracking data placed Charles’s phone at the scene of the crime and showed it traveling along the same route as the suspect vehicle before and after the shooting.
Investigators noted in the report that Charles’s behavior changed following the incident. The vehicle’s appearance was altered to include aftermarket hubcaps, and Charles did not return to Brotherhood Market in the days following the shooting, despite having been a regular visitor beforehand.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Charles in connection with the homicide. On April 17, he was arrested and transported to the Broward County Main Jail, where he is currently being held without bond.
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