CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is still investigating after five shootings in Charlotte since Sunday.
Morning Breeze Lane
One person suffered life-threatening injuries around 3 p.m. Sunday in a shooting along Morning Breeze Lane just off of Rozzelles Ferry Road. No suspects have been publicly identified.
Eddington Street
The deadly shooting happened on Eddington Street a little before 7 p.m. Sunday. In this incident, officers arrived to find 18-year-old Caleb Thompson suffering from a gunshot wound. He later died at the hospital.
Police said they have identified a suspect but are still working to determine if Thompson and the suspect knew each other.
Mallard Creek Road
Another shooting happened hours later on Sunday night around 10 p.m. This shooting happened at a Shell gas station on Mallard Creek Road near Concord Mills Mall.
CMPD said they found 24-year-old Joshua Howze dead from gunshot wounds. Another person was transported to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.
No suspect information has been released, but police said there are early indications there was a possible “shootout.”
"It does appear early in the investigation that the two subjects may have been involved in some type of conversation and at some point there was an exchange of gunfire," CMPD said.
Fairwood Avenue
Early Monday morning, Medic said they transported one person with minor injuries to Atrium Health's Carolina Medical Center hospital after a shooting along Fairwood Avenue, a neighborhood near Southside Park.
East Woodlawn Road
A shooting Monday morning along East Woodlawn Road has left two people in the hospital.
Chau Van Nguyen, 54, and another person who has not been identified were shot at the Exxon gas station near the interchange with Interstate 77.
According to a police report, there was also damage to the property.
Police have not released any information about a possible suspect.
Community reaction
The shootings were pretty widespread. Community members said the gun violence is hurting families across the Queen City and they want folks to put their guns down.
“What can we do as individuals… how can we make it so that it is not okay,” Jane Donaldson said. “It is not a reasonable thing to shoot people. It is not a conflict resolution and clearly, we need to have fewer guns.
“As people are moving into Charlotte, we must keep people safe,” Jamal Jones said. “Whatever the community needs to do to rally for each other. I think that is a big part of it.”
City councilman Malcolm Graham said it is not an easy problem to solve but folks have to be able to find ways to resolve their issues without picking up a gun. He said the violence is not just hurting one side of the city but communities across Charlotte.
"It’s disappointing waking up every morning, over the last couple of weeks really, and watching what happens the night before in terms of a wide of violent activity throughout the city relating to shootings," Graham said.
Despite this weekend’s violence, trends show violent crimes are down. CMPD said there have been 69 homicides so far this year. At this time last year, there had already been 85. The numbers are still not a comfort for some.
"Crime is how you feel... It is not what the data says," Graham said. "A lot of people have approached me in the grocery store, the banks, or while I'm out in the community concerned about crime in Charlotte."
Graham said there is progress being made.
“We have the Alternatives to Violence that started on Beatties Ford Road which is now circulating throughout the city because of a grant with the help of Alma Adams,” Graham said. “Obviously, CMPD is doing a great job in trying to prevent crime before it occurs.”
He added tackling crime is a priority for city leaders and ongoing work. It's city-wide efforts that must include schools, the government, nonprofit leaders, corporate leaders, churches and beyond, working as a collective to make the city safer for everyone.
Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information about any of these shootings can give an anonymous tip to Charlotte crime stoppers at 704-334-1600.
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