CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One person was injured after being shot Thursday by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer along Beatties Ford Road, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department confirmed.
Shortly before 11 a.m., two CMPD officers observed what they suspected to be "drug activity" occurring between two people, Deputy Chief of Police David Robinson told reporters. Officers said when they approached the two people, one of the people ran. Robinson said officers observed the man grab a gun from his waistband and point it at officers. One of the two CMPD officers shot the man, according to Robinson.
Robinson said the man was taken to the hospital, where he is conscious and talking to officers.
“Not again, not another one," Lucille Puckett, founder of non-profit, Take Back Our H.O.O.D.S, said.
The incident is now raising questions about mental health. Family members say, 33-year-old Tim Moore, the man shot, faces mental health challenges.
“Disbelief that the police shot my nephew, and you know, he’s a mental health patient," Tim Moore's aunt Wanda Moore said. "They're talking about taking him from the hospital and taking him to jail. He need mental health, he don’t need jail."
Deputy Chief Robinson said he's not aware of any mental health history, but that these situations happen quickly.
“I wish we had the luxury to know everyone’s history when we deal with them, we go with immediate action and what has occurred at that time, and I can tell you, I don’t know anybody who would say having a gun pointed at them is a time to stop and say, hey what’s your mental capacity," Robinson said.
Robinson said when officers face a "lethal threat," they're obligated to defend themselves and others.
Still, the family and community members have questions.
“They could’ve talked to Tim, he’s not a hard person to talk to," Angels of No Mercy founder Jacqueline Lewis said.
Lewis is now calling on CMPD Police Chief and Mecklenburg County District Attorney to work with the residents in the area, on how to tackle mental health.
In December, CMPD officers were involved in another shooting just down the road from Thursday's shooting. In that case, multiple officers fired weapons at a person after CMPD said the person did not comply with demands. Officers had seen that person pointing a gun at another man before interacting with police. The man in that incident died at the scene, and no officers were injured.
The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the December shooting and is investigating Thursday's shooting. The officer involved in the shooting is on administrative leave, as is standard protocol.
Moore is being charged with possession of a Firearm by Felon, Resist, Delay, Obstruct (RDO), and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
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