CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was a violent 24 hours in the Queen City. Separate shootings have left some searching for answers.
Charlotte resident Alicia McKenzie detailed the events she said she heard from her home in a quiet neighborhood on Wednesday night.
“I did hear it, it was like four gunshots,” McKenzie said.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday a 68-year-old woman was shot in her home on Rozumny Drive near Brookshire Boulevard in northwest Charlotte. The bullet came from the outside, and there were multiple marks on the house from the bullets.
McKenzie said she was left unsettled.
“That doesn’t happen here often,” McKenzie said. “I have small children and they kind of roam around with the other kids in the neighborhood and I feel safe with them doing that in this neighborhood typically. Now after this incident, I’m not so sure.”
Just hours later, CMPD responded to a call on Jeff Adams Drive along i-85, shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday. A victim, identified as 33-year-old Scott Howard, suffered from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and later died from his injuries.
“At this time, we are asking and urging the public, anyone with information, to please call and speak directly with the homicide detective at 704-432-TIPS or you can call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600,” a CMPD spokesperson said.
Later, one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after a shooting. Police said the victim was shot by someone he didn’t know after an incident on I-485 near Moores Chapel Road.
Then just after 4 p.m. Thursday, CMPD responded to Booker Avenue, which is just north of Brookshire Freeway. Medic confirmed one person was shot and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
According to data by CMPD, Charlotte has seen 109 homicides so far this year, which is an increase from 2021. In 2021, the city saw 97 homicides at this point in time.
While 2022 was higher than the year prior, it was not as many as in 2020 -- there were 117 homicides in 2020.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.