North Carolina Courtroom Chaos After Grieving Father Attacks Suspect

Shaheem Snype; Marion McKnight; Jamariyae Dixon.Credit : CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT;alexanderfunerals

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A grieving father was arrested after attacking the man accused of killing his teen son
Shaheem Snype attacked Marion McKnight, the man accused of killing his 16-year-old son, at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse in Charlotte, N.C.
McKnight is facing charges in connection with the murder of Jamariyae Dixon, as well as the attempted murder of two others

A grieving father was arrested after attacking the man accused of killing his teen son.

Shaheem Snype, 47, was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 19, in Charlotte, N.C., by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), according to arrest records. He received a misdemeanor charge for assault inflicting serious injury.

Queen City News reported that Snype attacked Marion McKnight, 21, at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

McKnight is facing charges related to the murder of Jamariyae Dixon, as well as the attempted murder of two others.

Per the outlet, Dixon was Snype’s 16-year-old son.

Shaheem Snype.CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT;alexanderfunerals

Queen City News reported that Snype allegedly repeatedly kicked and punched McKnight, who was taken to the hospital following the incident.

The father was released from jail the same day after posting a $1,000 bond.

PEOPLE reached out to the MCSO and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) for additional information on Sunday, Feb. 22.

Susan Sherrill, Dixon’s aunt, told Queen City News that Snype “did what he had to do as a father.”

“Any father would’ve did the same thing. We’re still grieving. This is a wound that will never ever close because my nephew was 16 years old, and he should still be here with us,” she added.

Jamariyae Dixon.alexanderfunerals

McKnight’s attorney Mike Kabakoff told the outlet in a statement that the incident “was the most violent assault I’ve seen in a courthouse in my 22 years as a lawyer.”

“Any parent can sympathize with the intense grief of losing a child, but the violence we saw in court on Thursday was unacceptable,” the attorney said.

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The Feb. 19 hearing was related to a prosecuting attorney’s motion to revoke McKnight’s bond, per the outlet.

Court records show that the motion was filed on Feb. 18.

McKnight was granted a pretrial release in November 2025 under the stipulation that he post a $100,000 secured bond, according to court records. Upon posting the bond, he was ordered to be on electronic monitoring and to live at his mother’s residence.

Marion McKnight.CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT

Queen City News reported that the hearing related to the motion to revoke his bond will be rescheduled.

Dixon was shot during a shooting on Stroud Park Court on May 23, 2025. Officers responded to a call around 5:30 p.m. local time and discovered three victims with gunshot wounds in the park, police said at the time.

All three victims, two of whom sustained life-threatening injuries, were transported to local hospitals.

Mecklenburg County Courthouse in North Carolina.google maps

Dixon was pronounced dead four days later, on May 27, 2025, at Atrium Health, per an MCPD press release.

Police identified McKnight as a suspect in the shooting and obtained a warrant for his arrest. After being interviewed by detectives, he was transferred into the MCSO’s custody.