Officers shoot at armed suspect after traffic stop in northwest Charlotte, CMPD says
Three police officers fired their weapons at an auto-theft suspect who ran from them while carrying a firearm late Thursday afternoon, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police official said.
The shooting happened in the 1300 block of Onyx Street, CMPD said on Twitter at 5:30 p.m.
That’s near Northwest School of the Arts and Beatties Ford Road. Class was not in session at the time of the shooting.
Just after 5 p.m., police said on Twitter, officers responded to a license plate reader hit for a stolen vehicle.
Police began following the vehicle after spotting it on Beatties Ford Road, Deputy Chief Coerte Voorhees told reporters at the scene. Four people were in the vehicle, he said.
When officers turned on their lights, the driver fled carrying a handgun, Voorhees said.
He said the officers perceived a “lethal threat” then fired. The suspect did not fire his weapon, Voorhees said.
No officers were hurt, and neither was the suspect, according to CMPD.
The suspect surrendered to police, and the four people were taken into custody, CMPD said.
Police on Friday identified the suspect who fled as 18-year-old Shaheem Covington. He has been charged with Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Fleeing to Elude, and Resisting Officers. Two juveniles were charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Minor.
Voorhees said multiple firearms were recovered at the scene, but he did not specify the number or type of weapons seized.
A Charlotte Observer photographer saw police swarming a white Honda Accord on Dunden Street at the corner of Onyx Street.
Three officers were placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal CMPD investigation, Voorhees said. This is standard protocol when police discharge their firearms at someone.
The State Bureau of Investigation typically handles the separate lead investigation when a CMPD officer shoots at a suspect, but the SBI won’t in this case because no one was injured, Voorhees said.
This is at least the fifth time in 2022 in which a CMPD officer has fired their weapon.
Charlotte Observer photographer Alex Slitz contributed.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 5:48 PM.
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