Shootings Into Occupied Homes, Vehicles On The Rise In Charlotte

Charlotte NC

07 July, 2021

7:43 PM

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CHARLOTTE, NC — Shootings into occupied vehicles and dwellings are on the rise in the Charlotte metro, police said Wednesday. So far this year, 499 shootings into occupied homes and vehicles have occurred in the metro, up 27 percent over this time last year, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. "When occupied homes and vehicles are shot into, information from the public is pivotal when it comes to making arrests. These cases are generally retaliatory in nature, and detectives rely heavily upon information from witnesses and evidence gathered from the scene to solve the cases," CMPD said. One case police are attempting to solve is the May 31 fatal shooting of Georgia State University student Sherilyn "Alicia" Drew, 21, who was killed in her family home just after midnight when suspects opened fire in front of her family home in the 5500 block of Twin Brook Drive. "This case is especially troubling to me and to the detectives that have been working on it because a young, innocent woman lost her life, and we really need the community's help to try to bring some resolution," Lt. Bryan Crum, of CMPD's violent crime division, said during a news conference. "We believe this is a case where they made a mistake, they targeted the wrong home. We don't know who the people were looking for, but based on our investigation, it had nothing to do with Alicia and nothing to do with her family," Crum said. CMPD is offering a reward of up to $5,000 through Crime Stoppers for information that leads to an arrest in the case. While police say they are responding to more of these type cases, there are common threads among cases. Many of the cases are retaliatory, Crum said. "They're minor disputes, people see an opportunity and they start shooting and that's how we end up here," he said. But not all are known targets. In May, David Hollowell, 40, was charged with shooting into a vehicle with two people inside during a road rage incident that started with a lane merge dispute on Interstate 485. In recent months, CMPD has arrested suspects who fired into vehicles with children, shot into apartment buildings after a fight, and one man who shot a woman with her own gun after he stole her purse and found it inside. "This is just a small snapshot of what happens when folks have some of these, what we all consider minor disagreements, and they bring a gun to it in order to deal with their problems," Lt. Joan Gallant, CMPD's North Patrol Division. "No community should have to live listening to gun shots in their neighborhood," she said. Anyone with information about any crime in the Charlotte metro area may leave a tip anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. SEE ALSO: Search On For Woman Wanted In Charlotte Wells Fargo Bank HeistArrest Made After Pedestrian Struck, Killed In July 4th Hit, RunHomicide Probe Underway After 16-Year-Old Shot In South End