Locksmith making house call fatally shot by homeowner, North Carolina cops say

A locksmith was killed while making a house call and police suspect the homeowner was responsible, according to investigators in North Carolina’s Oak Island.

It happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at a home on NE 49th Street, Oak Island police said in a July 24 news release.

A motive for the shooting was not revealed.

“Randy Stewart ... was pronounced deceased at the scene. Shortly afterwards the homeowner, 40-year-old Brian Reed Grant, was arrested,” police said.

“The shooting appears to have occurred during a service call to the home by Mr. Stewart’s locksmith business.”

Stewart, 61, was the owner of Stewart Enterprises Locksmith Service in Southport, about a 12-mile drive east from Oak Island.

Grant was charged with second-degree murder and was being held without bond, jail records show.

He is a former professional baseball player who was drafted in 2002 by the Toronto Blue Jays “and played several seasons in the minor leagues,” the Wilmington Star reports.

Oak Island is about a 160-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 7:11 AM with the headline "Locksmith making house call fatally shot by homeowner, North Carolina cops say."