Charlotte man shot at officers from inside house, no one injured, police say
Editor’s note: Police on Tuesday, June 28, identified the suspect in the shooting as Joshua Gaither. This story has been updated.
A man who police say was in a crisis and later was hospitalized fired at officers late Thursday from inside a home in east Charlotte, prompting response from SWAT and mental health crisis experts.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to the home on the 5800 block of Hunting Ridge Lane just before midnight, according to a release sent out by police. They were originally called to assist Medic and were told the man, who was later identified as Joshua Gaither, “was aggressive and disoriented,” according to the police report.
Officials say responding officers tried to talk with Gaither, but he had a handgun and shot at them and at an unoccupied police car.
According to CMPD, police officers did not fire back at him.
“The officers were able to move to a position of cover and call for additional officers and the CMPD SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Team,” CMPD said in the release. “There was no indication that anyone else was inside of the residence other than the suspect.”
SWAT negotiators de-escalated the situation by talking with Gaither from outside the home, CMPD said in the release. Once he agreed to exit, he was taken to a hospital for treatment under an involuntary commitment court order.
Gaither has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, police said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 10:15 AM.
