Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and the mother of a man killed five years ago in east Charlotte made another appeal Saturday for information that can help solve the case.

Eric Richard Byrd was fatally shot after a robbery attempt on Jan. 12, 2008 on Point Lake Drive in what was once known as the Lake Point apartments.

Police have said Byrd had gone to the complex with three other people, including a cousin, to buy marijuana.

Det. Bill Ward said Saturday the group had driven to the back of the apartment complex when the driver got out of the vehicle and was approached by a male suspect with an assault-style weapon. The suspect tried to rob the group before shooting Byrd and two others in the car. The gunman then fled from the scene.

Ward said the driver of the car Byrd was in then left to exit the complex when the group ran into a police officer who was making a traffic stop. They told the officer of the shooting.

Byrd was pronounced dead at the scene, while two other victims were treated and later released from the hospital.

Police only have a limited description of the suspect, but Ward said the victims did not know him.

At the time of his death, Byrd had a temp job with a mortgage company and was going for his GED, said his mother Beverly Byrd. She said he had been sick just before the shooting but was talked into going to the complex that January night.

Beverly Byrd, who currently lives in Georgia, drove to Charlotte for a Saturday press conference on the case along with her fiance and sister. They appeared at the event with Ward and Det. Gary McFadden, two retired CMPD detectives brought back last year to help close unsolved murders. The detectives have been working on the Byrd case since last May.

“In any given homicide case, we know there’s always a handful of individuals that are in our community who potentially know our suspect,” Ward said. “This is the five-year anniversary for Ms. Byrd and her family and I know that they would like to put some closure to the case.”

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/ A reward of up to $5,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest.

Beverly Byrd says she has forgiven the person who shot her son, but wants anyone with information about the killing to come forward. Byrd, who works with CMPD’s support group for relatives of homicide victims, stressed that anyone who calls into the Crime Stoppers line can remain anonymous.

“I pray that I can get some closure,” she said. “That’s all I want.”

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