CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating multiple shootings during Labor Day Weekend, which led to three people dying and four people recovering from gunshot wounds.
Detectives haven't made any arrests in the shootings, which marked a violent end to the summer.
The first shooting happened Friday night at Osei Discount Food and Beverage, which is located at 2820 L.D. Parker Drive.
Officers found three people shot, including 19-year-old Carlos Edward Lopez-Cole, who died from his wounds. Mecklenburg EMS took two women to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"This can be challenging. People are pent up. We're inside. There's not a lot that people can do because of the pandemic so it's the end of summer, I know a lot of folks are going to try and get out," CMPD Major Ryan Butler said in a now-prescient statement. "I can't stress enough that folks need to be safe."
Then on Sunday, detectives responded to four different shootings across the city.
Early Sunday morning, a gunman killed 45-year-old Oldin Lainez and injured another person off Crigler Street in northwest Charlotte.
UPDATE: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police later determined the Crigler Street shooting was "a justified homicide."
That same morning, a drive-by shooting on Old Forester Lane left a home and a car riddled with bullets, but no one was shot.
Later in the afternoon, officers raced to a shopping center off North Graham Street after someone was shot and sustained life-threatening injuries.
Around 5:30 p.m., detectives responded to Atrium CMC after someone walked into the hospital with a gunshot wound and later died of their injuries.
It wasn't just shootings — Mecklenburg EMS confirmed one person has life-threatening injuries sustained from a stabbing on Orange Street southeast Charlotte on Sunday.
Anyone with information about any of the investigations is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective. People can also leave information anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
The City of Charlotte's response to the violence will be discussed at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Council had a violence interrupters program that was front and center before COVID-19 but was put on the back burner as the city responded to the pandemic and then protests. But now it's on Tuesday night's agenda, back in focus.
