Armed Neighbors Stop Teen Crime Spree
Charlotte, North Carolina – 2 teens are in custody after a series of crimes ended in both being shot by different armed citizens on February 4th.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reports dispatching officers to a report of shots fired at a residence located in Otter Creek Dr. at around 4:30 a.m.
After arriving at the scene law enforcement were told by the homeowner, he’d challenged 2 male suspects trying to break into his wife’s car.
The suspects flashed a gun at the man and drove away in a white Toyota Camry, but returned a short time later and fired shots at the victim as he was still sitting in the vehicle. His car was struck by the gunfire, but the homeowner himself was not injured.
As officers were working that call, another came in 15 minutes later of second shooting nearby. Officers responded to that scene as well, but by the time they arrived the teens had already departed.
LE learned the suspects, still in the white Camry which had been reported stolen on January 29th, pulled up behind a man sitting in his car near Clems Branch Dr.
One of the suspects exited the vehicle, put on a mask and pulled a gun before attempting to rob the victim. The homeowner was also armed, however, and he drew and shot the suspect who immediately turned and fled the scene in the getaway car.
Patrol units located the vehicle matching the description 6 minutes later and attempted to stop the car, but were forced to pursue the car until it lost control and collided with a tree and rendering it inoperable.
The driver, who, though still a teenager, has a criminal record containing a felony conviction, and was arrested at the scene of the crash but there was no sign of the other suspect.
The driver was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and expected to survive. Meanwhile law enforcement was working to identify his accomplice when yet another report of a shooting called in to 911 dispatchers.
Officers arriving at a home on Myers Mill Ln. found a 17-year-old male bleeding from a gunshot wound to his leg and being held at gunpoint by a group of men.
After taking the suspect into custody and speaking with witnesses, it was learned the teen had attempted another carjacking of a woman who had just returned home from the gym and still in the driveway of her home.
He drew a gun and demanded her keys which she turned over. Her husband sprinted from the home, tackled the suspect and a fight ensued with nearby neighbors running from their own homes to help.
“When we woke up this morning, we heard Kelly screaming, ‘Help, help, help Brian’s been shot,’” Army veteran Burton Fulton who had been armed with a shotgun told WSOTV reporters.
“Brian, the homeowner, tackled the guy first,” Fulton said. “Mark showed up and got a hold of one of his arms pinned behind his back, so he had his right arm free. Basically, Mark just laid on top of the guy. It was probably five to 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.”
The suspect was ordered to stop the attack, but when he declined, he was shot in the leg.
“He was reaching for it,” Fulton said. “He’d already confirmed that he had a weapon, so we were just trying to make sure nobody else got shot.”
He was then held at gunpoint until police arrived and transported to the hospital as well and expected to survive. The homeowner was not shot as his wife feared but did receive a head wound from the fight with the suspect.
A surprising amount of violent crime occurs in or around vehicles, and more often than almost anywhere else.
Anyone who is looking to increase their ability to defend themselves and their family should know how to fight in a car.
Read here for the Vehicle Firearm Tactics Course – Online & DVD for the latest tactics and techniques for self-defense.
