Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are investigating a fatal shooting early Friday near the city's central bus station. Police initially reported the shooting happened after armed guards encountered someone at the Charlotte Transit Center, but clarified later that it took place adjacent to the transit center.
Police were called at about 12:30 a.m. to East 4th Street, between the entertainment complex formerly known as the EpiCentre and the Charlotte Transit Center. Police said that Allied security officers, who patrol Charlotte Area Transit System properties and vehicles, "encountered a subject at the transit center."
"One Allied security employee, perceiving the deadly threat discharged their weapon, striking the subject. A firearm was recovered at the scene," CMPD officials said, in a statement.
Paramedics pronounced the person dead at the transit center. Police said they found a firearm at the scene, but didn't give any other information about what led to the shooting. The victim was identified as Kashaune Lavonne Teal, 24.
Friday's gunfire is the latest in a string of shootings in and around CATS buses over the past two years. Those include:
- The February 2022 killing of bus driver Ethan Rivera during what police called a road rage shooting uptown.
- A May 2022 incident in which a man shot into a bus near Nations Ford and Arrowood roads.
- A November 2022 non-fatal shooting at the transit center that started with an argument between two people.
- A May 2023 shootout between a CATS bus driver and a passenger on board a bus in Steele Creek that left both injured.
