Charlotte (The Queen City News) – A security guard is facing charges after reportedly shooting a man during an incident outside a Charlotte 7-Eleven on Thursday night, and his firearms license had expired, according to Mecklenburg County court filings.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to a petrol station on University City Boulevard shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 18.
When authorities arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to his left hand. The alleged gunman, Robert Santiago, was still on the scene, clothed in full security gear, according to reports.
According to court filings, the two males had an argument in the parking lot. Santiago, who was paid to provide protection for the store, alleges he requested the man to leave many times. He told CMPD that as the suspect “picked up a glass bottle and charged at him,” Santiago fired his firearm from about 20 feet away.
According to CMPD, the bottle was unbroken, and evidence at the scene, including four shot casings and a blood trail, suggests that the use of deadly force was not justified.
Investigators believe that the space between the two men made the threat less immediate.
According to court records, officers learned that his North Carolina armed security license had expired in March 2025. Though he claimed to have renewed it, CMPD said he couldn’t offer confirmation. Santiago was arrested shortly after midnight and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill, causing serious injury, and a firearms felony involving incorrect license. His bond was originally set at $250,000 and has now been posted.
