Man Threatening Family With Gun Killed In Officer Shooting

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte police have launched an investigation into a domestic disturbance that ended with an officer involved shooting that left a man dead in North Charlotte early Friday morning.

According to police, officers were initially summoned to a home in the 3100 block of Ernest Russell Court Aug. 1 around 8 p.m. for a domestic disturbance, but by the time they arrived, the suspect had left the home.

Several hours later and shortly after midnight, police received a 911 call from a teenage girl who said her father had returned to the family home with a gun. According to police, three teenage children were inside the home when the incident began but were able to leave the home before officers arrived.

“As the 911 operator was speaking to the female, the operator heard gunshots being fired in the background,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement. “During the 911 call, the female also told the operator that her mother and aunt were still inside the home with her father and that her father was pointing a gun at her aunt.”

When CMPD officers arrived at the home, they heard gunshots inside. A woman with a gunshot wound in her leg came out of the house and told officers her brother-in-law shot her. She said she believed he was going to kill her sister, who was still in the home.

“A short time later a CMPD officer encountered the suspect at the rear of the home and perceived an imminent, lethal threat and discharged a firearm, striking the suspect,” CMPD said.

The male suspect, whose name has not yet been released by police, was transported to Atrium Health’s Carolina Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The female gunshot victim was also transported to an area hospital for treatment for her injuries, which police say are non-life threatening.

Investigators recovered a gun believed to be the suspect’s at the scene, and an internal investigation regarding the officer’s actions is underway, police said.

“As is standard procedure with any officer involved shooting, the Internal Affairs Bureau will conduct a separate but parallel investigation to determine whether CMPD policies and procedures were adhered to during the course of the incident,” CMPD said.

CMPD said that anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a homicide unit detective, or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.