On January 12, 2023, at about 2:30 p.m., Chapel Hill police responded to a reported shooting in the 600 block of North Heritage Circle near the Chapel Ridge apartment complex. Officers found 24-year-old Marcus Anthony Smith of Durham, North Carolina, dead of gunshot wounds; the incident was investigated as a homicide.

On February 9, 2023, Chapel Hill authorities announced the arrest of 23-year-old Chapel Hill resident Asim Salah McKenzie, who was charged with second-degree murder in Smith’s death. Police say McKenzie and Smith were known to each other; McKenzie surrendered at the Orange County Detention Center and was held without bond. No motive or detailed description of the relationship has been released, and the investigation remained ongoing.

If anyone has information about Marcus Smith, his movements that day, or his relationship with Asim McKenzie, please contact Chapel Hill police.