June 22, 2020 – In Breaking News – The Charolette Observer
Two people were killed and at least 12 hurt early Monday after a multi-day street party erupted in lots of gunfire in northwest Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
Five of the 12 injured people were struck by cars as they began scrambling across streets away from the chaotic scene, police said.
Three of the people who were injured are fighting for their life, police said.
(The shooting occurred at a Juneteenth/Father’s Day block party. Courtesy of CBS 17 and YouTube. Posted on Jun 22, 2020.)
At a news conference Monday, investigators said that as many as 400 people were attending the celebration at the time, and at least 100 rounds were fired into the crowd.
No CMPD officers fired their weapons, officials said.
The two people who were killed were identified Monday afternoon by CMPD as Kelly Miller, 29, and Christopher Antonio Gleaton, 28.
“It was a very, very chaotic scene,” Deputy Chief Gerald Smith said.
“This was a mass casualty incident.”
He lamented that no witnesses had come forward yet, saying, “400 people in one spot, we have not one witness.”
Smith said, and urged people to provide police with information about the shooting.
Keith Bailey told the Observer he was at his home a few blocks away when he heard bursts of gunfire.
“It was kind of like a little war,” said Bailey, who served in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1984, and saw combat in Grenada.
“It sounded like it was when I was back in the service,” Bailey said.
“When you hear gunfire like that, it’s kind of scary.”
(At least two people died at six others suffered life-threatening injuries when a block party turned violent in north Charlotte Sunday night. Family members say at least three people died but that hasn’t been confirmed by police. One witness said shots rang out from all directions and at least a dozen people were shooting from al sides. It happened on Beatties Ford Road in north Charlotte as part of a Juneteenth celebration that ran all weekend long. Courtesy of WCNC and YouTube. Posted on Jun 22, 2020.)
Investigators say there is evidence “several different caliber weapons” were fired simultaneously, indicating more than one person was shooting.
It was not clear who they were targeting or why they started shooting, Smith said.
‘A SENSELESS ACT’
Jennings described the outdoor event as a multi-day “impromptu block party” for Juneteenth that had been running off and on since Friday.
The official Juneteenth celebration included a March through the neighborhood Friday but continued in several unofficial celebrations throughout the weekend, Smith said.
Juneteenth celebrates the events of June 19, 1865, when the last of the nation’s enslaved people learned they had been set free by the Emancipation Proclamation.
CMPD detectives are investigating a homicide in the 1800 Beatties Ford Rd. One person has been pronounced deceased at the scene. Several other victims have been transported by Medic with gunshot wounds.
— CMPD News (@CMPD) June 22, 2020
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📱@CLTCrimeStopper at (704)334-1600 if you have any information about this case pic.twitter.com/RT2IVTHZJd— CMPD News (@CMPD) June 22, 2020
Continue reading… 2 dead, 12 hurt after over 100 shots fired at big crowd at outdoor Charlotte party
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