CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A chaotic scene unfolded in northwest Charlotte on Friday night after the city's 90th homicide.
A shooting around 8 p.m. left one person dead and another person hurt. A few hours later, near the scene of the homicide, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers responding to shots fired were hurt when their patrol cars collided.
CMPD officers initially responded to a shooting death near Catherine Simmons Ave. and Beatties Ford Rd.
When officers arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound inside a car on Custer Street, CMPD said. That man was pronounced dead on the scene.
The victim was identified as 25-year old Tydarrien Ford.
A second victim with a gunshot wound was found on the road at Catherine Simmons and Custer Street. This victim was rushed to the hospital by Medic for treatment of with life-threatening injuries, CMPD said.
WCNC NBC Charlotte reporter Hunter Sáenz had just completed a live report for the 11 p.m. newscast when he and his photographer heard about 15 gunshots ring out in the night.
Sáenz talked about it on Twitter a short time later:
Sáenz and his photographer found two CMPD cruisers badly damaged after colliding with each other on Beatties Ford Road near Holly Street.
One officer was pinned inside the police car. Rescuers used a tool commonly referred to as "the jaws of life" to cut the officer out of the vehicle.
Another officer was able to exit the vehicle before being placed on a stretcher. That officer was alert and talking with paramedics, according to our crew at the scene.
CMPD would later confirm the officers were responding to the sound of gunshots which originated near the 2200 block of Augusta Street.
"One patrol car made a U-turn and another one collided with it, causing the accident," Sáenz reported after an early morning briefing with CMPD.
The shooter from Augusta Street was possibly seen on Beatties Ford Road, CMPD said.
Other CMPD officers closed roads leading to Atrium Health's Carolina Medical Center near uptown Charlotte to help Medic ambulances transport their fellow officers.
Viewer video sent to WCNC NBC Charlotte shows one of those police blockages near Kenilworth Drive and East Morehead Street.
CMPD said the following officers, who had serious injuries, were treated and released from the hospital:
- Officer Michael Petrillo
- Officer Micha Edmunds
- Officer Shon Sheffield
- Officer Michael Mosher
No other vehicles were involved in the crash. CMPD said the officers were not involved in a pursuit at the time of the crash.
Beatties Ford between LaSalle and Gilbert was closed overnight as authorities investigated the crash.
It was not immediately clear if the shootings were connected.
A third incident in the area late Friday had CMPD and Medic units responding to a stabbing on 2700 block of Dundeen Street. Medic transported one person to CMC Main with life-threatening injuries.
Like the earlier incidents, it was not immediately clear if there was any connection to the other ongoing investigations.