Two people were killed and seven others wounded when at least 100 rounds were fired during a Juneteenth block party in Charlotte, North Carolina, early Monday – and five others were struck by cars as they tried to flee the mayhem, officials said.
The gunfire erupted after police responded to a call of a pedestrian struck by a car shortly after midnight on Beatties Foard Road and Lasalle Street, where hundreds had gathered for the impromptu party, WBTV reported.
As soon as cops arrived, bullets began flying. Nine people were shot and two of them have died, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Johnny Jennings told reporters, adding that there was evidence of multiple shooters.
Three of the wounded victims were fighting for their life, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“It was a very, very chaotic scene,” Deputy Chief Gerald Smith said at a press conference, adding that no witnesses had come forward yet.
“Four hundred people in one spot, we have not one witness,” he lamented.
No police officers fired their weapons in the incident, which started shortly after midnight.
“A short time later, they located a female victim with an apparent gunshot wound lying in the roadway on Beatties Ford Road. The victim was pronounced deceased on the scene by Medic,” police said.
No arrests have been made and a motive for the bloodshed was not yet known, Smith said.
Police said there was evidence that “several different caliber weapons” were fired simultaneously, indicating more than one person opened fire.
Jennings described the event as a multi-day “impromptu block party” for Juneteenth – the commemoration of the official end of slavery in the US — that began Friday.
WBTV reporter Anne Marie Hagerty tweeted that the family of a victim told her “they are devastated to lose a loved daughter/niece, right after Father’s Day, in this senseless violence.”
She added: “They say they just buried a sister in January and this is too much.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles reacted on Twitter to the “senseless acts of violence.”
“What should have been a joyous celebration of freedom, became a moment where people lost their lives and many others suffered serious injuries,” Lyles wrote.
“While I do feel that we have made progress on violent crime, we still have more work to do. This type of tragedy cannot continue to happen in our city. … Violence only leads to more suffering and pain,” she said.
“To those families who lost loved ones this morning, I am grieving with you. And to all of those with injuries, I hope you recover quickly. I also want to thank the first responders who were on the scene and cared for those who were injured,” the mayor added.
Just an hour before the incident, Charlotte police said they found a man who’d been shot and killed in a common area in an apartment complex on Varsity Lane.
Authorities haven’t released any details about the victim, any suspects or a motive in the homicide.
On Saturday night, at least nine people were wounded when gunfire erupted at an outdoor party in Syracuse, including a 17-year-old boy who was left in critical condition after he was shot in the head.
https://nypost.com/2020/06/22/police-say-2-dead-7-wounded-in-north-carolina-shooting/
The gunfire erupted after police responded to a call of a pedestrian struck by a car shortly after midnight on Beatties Foard Road and Lasalle Street, where hundreds had gathered for the impromptu party, WBTV reported.
As soon as cops arrived, bullets began flying. Nine people were shot and two of them have died, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Johnny Jennings told reporters, adding that there was evidence of multiple shooters.
Three of the wounded victims were fighting for their life, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“It was a very, very chaotic scene,” Deputy Chief Gerald Smith said at a press conference, adding that no witnesses had come forward yet.
“Four hundred people in one spot, we have not one witness,” he lamented.
No police officers fired their weapons in the incident, which started shortly after midnight.
“A short time later, they located a female victim with an apparent gunshot wound lying in the roadway on Beatties Ford Road. The victim was pronounced deceased on the scene by Medic,” police said.
No arrests have been made and a motive for the bloodshed was not yet known, Smith said.
Police said there was evidence that “several different caliber weapons” were fired simultaneously, indicating more than one person opened fire.
Jennings described the event as a multi-day “impromptu block party” for Juneteenth – the commemoration of the official end of slavery in the US — that began Friday.
WBTV reporter Anne Marie Hagerty tweeted that the family of a victim told her “they are devastated to lose a loved daughter/niece, right after Father’s Day, in this senseless violence.”
She added: “They say they just buried a sister in January and this is too much.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles reacted on Twitter to the “senseless acts of violence.”
“What should have been a joyous celebration of freedom, became a moment where people lost their lives and many others suffered serious injuries,” Lyles wrote.
“While I do feel that we have made progress on violent crime, we still have more work to do. This type of tragedy cannot continue to happen in our city. … Violence only leads to more suffering and pain,” she said.
“To those families who lost loved ones this morning, I am grieving with you. And to all of those with injuries, I hope you recover quickly. I also want to thank the first responders who were on the scene and cared for those who were injured,” the mayor added.
Just an hour before the incident, Charlotte police said they found a man who’d been shot and killed in a common area in an apartment complex on Varsity Lane.
Authorities haven’t released any details about the victim, any suspects or a motive in the homicide.
On Saturday night, at least nine people were wounded when gunfire erupted at an outdoor party in Syracuse, including a 17-year-old boy who was left in critical condition after he was shot in the head.
https://nypost.com/2020/06/22/police-say-2-dead-7-wounded-in-north-carolina-shooting/
