CHARLOTTE NORTH CAROLINA, a longtime Bank of America employee was shot and killed while taking a smoke break outside a branch in Charlotte, according to police and family members.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said officers responded shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday to a shooting at the Bank of America located in the 9700 block of Callabridge Court. When officers arrived, they found 50-year-old Ina Michelle Lang suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police quickly identified 22-year-old Sam’on Andrew Smith as a suspect and took him into custody. Authorities said Smith has been charged with first-degree murder.
Investigators have not released a motive for the shooting. Family members told local ABC affiliate WSOC they believe Lang was attacked while she was outside the bank on a smoke break during her work shift.
Lang had worked for Bank of America for approximately 20 years, according to her family and coworkers.
Following her death, Lang’s coworkers launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her husband with funeral expenses.
“Ina Lang was a loving mother and a committed wife with her husband Mike,” the fundraiser description states. “She had the most amazing work ethic, having been at Bank of America for over 20 years in Charlotte, where her life was taken from her over a senseless shooting. We will always remember Ina as one of the strongest employees we’ve worked with. She treated our team as a family and brought a motherly spirit to everyone around her.”
WSOC also spoke with Smith’s uncle, George Wise, who said his nephew was arrested at his mother’s home.
“My sister told me that the police were surrounding the house and she needed me over there,” Wise told the outlet.
Wise described his nephew as a “good dude” and said he was not someone who was frequently involved in street activity.
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
