Call about ‘armed person’ near apartments ends with CMPD officer shooting someone

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer shot and injured someone in a southwest Charlotte apartment complex early Wednesday, according to CMPD.

Little information has been released about the shooting or what led to it.

The identity of the wounded person was not released. A gun was recovered, police said in a tweet.

The person was taken to a hospital, alert and conscious, and is expected to “recover fully,” police Chief Johnny Jennings said during a news conference at the scene near the Pringle Square Apartments in Steele Creek.

At a separate news conference at CMPD headquarters, Maj. Brian Foley declined to provide an update, citing a probe by the State Bureau of Investigation.

“CMPD is conducting a concurrent criminal investigation involving any of the suspects, potential suspects,” he said.

911 caller reports chase

The shooting happened in the 17200 block of Annabelle Place, off Brown Grier Road near Steele Creek Road.

Around 3:20 a.m., a 911 caller reported that someone with a gun was chasing another person outside an apartment building, Jennings said.

After arriving on the scene, an officer encountered “an individual” then discharged his service weapon, striking the person in the leg, CMPD said in a news release.

Asked if the individual was the one with the gun, Jennings said it was too early to determine that but police ”are assuming that’s the case.”

The SBI will lead an investigation into the shooting. CMPD will conduct its own investigation to see if department “policies and procedures were adhered to during the incident,” according to the news release.

“The officer will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard policy whenever an officer discharges a service weapon,” officials said.

The apartment complex has streetlights every few yards on its streets. However, security cameras are located just in the complex’s main areas, including the pool and the leasing office, property staff told the Observer.

Jennings said he didn’t think anyone was outside at the time of the shooting.

Anyone with information about the case can anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com.

CMPD officers and shootings

The shooting on Wednesday is the second involving a CMPD officer in the past month.

On March 9, a driver tried to run over an officer with a car reported stolen in the 7900 block of Nations Ford Road, CMPD said. The officer fired their weapon, but police say they don’t believe anyone was hit by the gunfire. The driver fled the scene in a gray Ford Fusion, which was found the next day, police said.

Last year, CMPD officers shot and killed two people in five officer-involved shootings.

In November 2019, CMPD revised its use of force policy, which governs when and how officers are allowed to use their weapons. The department banned drawing and pointing a gun at someone unless the officer “reasonably believes that deadly force may become necessary.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 6:57 AM.