Four teens, 1 adult arrested in drive-by shooting death of toddler sleeping in bed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – New developments in a northwest Charlotte drive-by shooting that killed a 4-year-old boy while he was sleeping. CMPD has made two more arrests in connection to Caleb Flax’s death. The news comes on the same day Flax’s family laid him to rest.

“I’m glad that, you know, they do have people in custody. ‘Cause honestly what happened was really tragic,” a neighbor tells WCCB.

Four teens now charged with murder in connection to the drive-by killing of 4-year-old Caleb Flax. They are Ar’montae Johnson, Antonio Ladson, Jaylen Barber and Ian Garland. A fifth suspect , 22-year-old Terrance Jackson, is charged with accessory after the fact.

Police say the teen suspects, who range in age from 16 to 17, fired at least 84 shots into multiple homes and cars on September 20. A neighbor, who didn’t want to give her name, recounts that fatal night, telling WCCB, “Basically I was just laying down on my phone and then I heard gunshots. And honestly, it’s nothing new around the area. Like, I’ve heard gunshots here before, but I didn’t know it was so close.”

Flax was fatally struck in the head while sleeping in bed. A woman in the neighborhood, who asked not to be identified, was also hurt but is recovering. Here’s what we know so far about what happened that night: police say 16-year-old Johnson admitted that he stole a Mercedez Benz and drove the car to a party the night of the shooting. Detectives say Johnson explained that a group at the party wanted to go “shoot at windows” as payback for a previous shooting.

The neighbor says, “There has to be something that has to be done. ‘Cause the gunshots here are, it’s kind of a normal thing every night, every other night it’s like, we deserve to change this.”

Call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 if you have information that can help police. CMPD homicide detectives are scheduled to hold a news conference Friday at two p.m. to provide more details.