Charlotte-Mecklenburg police released a one-minute video Friday showing some of the gunfire in a mass shooting that killed four people on Beatties Ford Road in June. Officials say they've identified at least 10 guns that were fired in the early morning of June 22 but don't yet have suspects.
The shooting, in which nine people were hit by gunfire, followed three nights of peaceful Juneteenth celebrations. An estimated 400 people were on the street when gunfire broke out.
"Those 400 people that were out there celebrating are 400 potential witnesses, 400 chances that we get at getting that one or two pieces of information that will prove crucial in breaking this case wide open. So please offer your assistance," Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agent Anthony Spotswood said at a Friday news conference.
The video, which CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano called "flat-out jarring," came from a security camera at a business on Beatties Ford Road. Several shots are heard off camera, and two people are seen ducking into a vehicle, emerging with guns and firing them. Dozens of shots can be heard, apparently from multiple sources.
CMPD Lt. Bryan Crum said it's not clear whether the people seen shooting hit anyone. He said no charges against them are pending at this time.
"We need to speak to these individuals," Crum said. "What we do know is that they have information that's relevant to this investigation and we need to talk to them."
Crum said police have used a ballistics database to identify 10 guns that were fired in a mass shooting early on the morning of June 22nd, and have recovered some of those guns.
"At this point we know there were at least 10 guns that we can link, or that were fired out there, and we’ve been able to link some of those casings to other crimes -- that’s other potentially violent crimes or violent crimes," he said.
But Crum says police haven’t yet identified the people who used those guns on Beatties Ford Road.
"Just because we can say that a firearm was at both scenes, that doesn’t necessarily mean that was the same person that was pulling the trigger," he said. "So those are very, very good leads but we have to continue working those."
The reward for tips leading to arrests has been increased to $22,000. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or use the P3Tips App.
"Don't need to know who you are, where you are, don't have to testify in court — merely providing information for our detectives and partners to follow up on," Tufano said.
The victims in the mass shooting were 39-year-old Jamaa Keon Cassell, 28-year-old Christopher "CJ" Antonio Gleaton and 31-year-old Dairyon Dejean Stevenson, who died of gunshot wounds, and 29-year-old Kelly Miller, who was hit by a car.
