Latest news with #SafetyWellnessInitiativeTowardsCommunityHouseholds
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘Still on edge': Northeast Charlotte resident concerned after home damaged by gunfire
A home was damaged by gunfire in northeast Charlotte early Tuesday morning. Anthony Jackson said it happened when he had just gone to sleep. 'The next thing, I hear a loud noise, bam bam bam bam bam. I look around; I say, 'What's that noise?'' Jackson explained. Thinking it was just fireworks, he said he went back to bed only to find bullet holes when he woke up. Jackson said two bullets pierced the window above his front door, and others ricocheted through his living room. 'CSI had to peel up the carpet to get the bullet out of here,' Jackson elaborated. He said one of them came within feet of his 83-year-old mother, whom he cares for. 'A big hole in the window where they shot up, yeah, that's my mother's bedroom,' he explained. ALSO READ: Police search for suspect after double shooting into Concord home In all, police told Jackson his home had been hit multiple times. 'The police, you know, they took pictures and everything, they said, it must have been they shot the wrong house up. Cause they say it happens all the time,' Jackson said. While he's grateful neither he nor his mother was hurt, the overall incident has left him traumatized. 'It could happen again. I'm still on edge. It could happen to any of my neighbors; I just have to keep my eyes open more,' he said. Last year, there were 856 shootings into homes, and 174 people were shot in those incidents. In February, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department launched a pilot program to investigate this type of crime. It's called SWITCH, or Safety Wellness Initiative Towards Community Households, and it allocates four detectives to specifically investigate shootings into homes. A $500 cash reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest in this case. VIDEO: Police search for suspect after double shooting into Concord home
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
CMPD hopes SWITCH initiative, state legislation help reduce shootings into dwellings by teens
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Shootings into occupied dwellings have spike across Charlotte in recent years. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police records show there were 856 such shootings last year, many of those perpetrated by teens, 16 and 17 years old. Growing issue of shootings into occupied homes in Charlotte has residents frustrated The department is launching a new initiative to combat these indiscriminate, often dangerous and sometimes deadly crimes called SWITCH or Safety Wellness Initiative Towards Community Households. 'The act of a drive-by shooting into homes in unacceptable, and we must SWITCH the mindset of those committing these crimes and explore ways to enhance community trust,' said CMPD Det. Dabbin Brathwaite. 'These violent attacks create fear and trauma for the entire community and have a lasting impact on the mindset of each adult and child seeing and hearing these incidents occur.' The SWITCH initiative will supplement the ongoing efforts of patrol officers. The new program hopes to be a deterrent to crime since HB 834 went into effect in December, where 16- and 17–year-old juveniles can charged as adults for Class A-E Felonies. CMPD Det. Dabbin Brathwaite hopes this new program will help young men and women to think twice about committing these shootings. 'Our focus and mission is to switch the mindsets of the individuals who are responsible for such crimes but also the mindset of our community members our Charlotte citizens who have that viable information that could lead to these arrests,' he said. To further encourage community engagement, a $500 reward is being offered for any information on shootings into occupied dwellings where an arrest is made. Call Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or submit an anonymous tip by phone to the P3 Tips App. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
04-02-2025
- Axios
CMPD: Charlotte shootings into homes are rampant
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigated more than 900 shootings into occupied properties last year. Why it matters: CMPD fears these shootings, which can traumatize entire neighborhoods, are becoming normalized. "Imagine someone shooting 12, 10, one round, one round through your living room, into your child's bedroom, into your television, into your personal space," Major Bret Balamucki says. "How do you carry that? How do you go to sleep that night?" By the numbers: According to CMPD's annual report, there were 932 investigations at crime scenes involving shootings into occupied properties in 2024. The figure represents a decline from 2023 but is higher than in years before that. 2023: 1,306 2022: 826 2021: 569 Flashback: In December, a Charlotte Mecklenburg School bus carrying children was shot at during an alleged drug-related dispute. No one was hit by gunfire. In September, a 2-year-old girl was struck and seriously injured by a bullet that pierced through the wall of her apartment while she was asleep. Most of these shootings are drive-bys targeting individuals, Balamucki says. However, suspects often shoot into multiple homes, harming several victims. What's next: CMPD is launching a pilot program called CMPD Switch (Safety Wellness Initiative Towards Community Households) to allocate more resources and investigators to these crimes. CMPD will offer cash rewards for information that leads to the arrest of suspects for shootings into homes. Tips can be shared anonymously through CrimeStoppers. "These callous shootings will not be tolerated," Balamucki says. "Our investigators will find those responsible and hold them accountable." Go deeper: Is Charlotte becoming unsafe? We asked the top 3 local law enforcement officers Why Charlotte police are driving around with their blue lights on Charlotte police to expand successful civilian crash response program CMPD cracks down on street takeovers
