Three people were shot and injured during a street takeover event around 4:30 a.m. Sunday outside Crossroads Shopping Center in northeast Charlotte, according to a police report and shopping center employees.
The victims included an 18-year-old Black woman, a 20-year-old Black man and a 21-year-old Black man. All were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's public information office declined to provide additional information, including whether officers had made any arrests, detained any suspects, or seized any property.
Graphic videos on social media linked to shooting
Videos posted Monday by the Instagram account @charlittt_nc purportedly show
the moments before, during and after the shootings outside the shopping center, located at 2804 West Sugar Creek Road.
The videos show two men brandishing handguns, with one firing five rounds toward an off-camera subject. Another video shows a person lying in a parking space as someone yells, "Somebody got shot. A female!" Additional footage shows emergency responders surrounding a gurney and police officers walking down a sidewalk with flashlights as bystanders show their hands.
The Instagram account claimed the shootings took place during "a large gathering where people were performing street stunts near a store."
The shootings outside the shopping center marked the beginning of a violent Sunday in Charlotte. Later that day, three people were killed in two separate shootings in west Charlotte, CMPD confirmed.
A shopping center marred by crime
Reached by phone on Tuesday, an employee of Furniture Palace who gave only her first name, Jen, said her store opened two hours later than normal on Sunday because of the shooting. She said the shopping center's parking lot was marred with circular tire marks and burnt rubber.
An employee at the Super Wok Chinese restaurant said police set up a mobile SkyWatch police tower in the shopping center's parking lot Monday, a day after the shooting. He declined to give his name but said multiple shootings had taken place at the shopping center over the years.
In July 2020, a woman was fatally shot in the parking lot around 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, according to WCNC-TV. Another deadly shooting was reported nearby in November 2024.
The Super Wok employee also recalled an incident from four or five years ago when he said a man was shot in the neck outside of the restaurant. He couldn't recall the date, but said he vividly remembered it.
"I opened the door, I saw blood was gushing out of his neck," he said. "I don't know what was the result of that boy."
The employee said CMPD had previously set up a SkyWatch tower outside the shopping center about a month ago after a drive-by shooting.
"Then they took (the tower) away, and the same day that they took it away, the vape shop got smashed in," the employee said. "I don't know if (the police) don't care about this area, or what's going on these days, but that's all I can tell you."
