4-year-old seriously injured in drive-by shooting near Charlotte apartments, police say

A 4-year-old boy has been hospitalized after being shot Monday evening, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.

Officers found the child with a gunshot wound around 6:48 p.m. near the 7100 block of Wallace Road in southeast Charlotte, CMPD said in a news release. That’s near the Wallace Woods Apartments just off Independence Boulevard. Police had responded to a 911 call for an assault with a deadly weapon near the address.

The child underwent surgery Monday night, police said. No updates have been provided about his condition as of mid-afternoon Tuesday.

Police Maj. David Robinson told reporters at the scene that the boy and his mother were on their way back from a grocery store when the drive-by shooting happened, according to Observer news partner WSOC.

According to a CMPD report, the bullet struck the outside of the mother’s apartment before hitting the boy.

“It shocks the conscience,” he said.

Monday’s shooting is at least the second involving a child in that area this summer.

On June 25, a 1-year-old girl was killed and a 7-year-old boy was wounded in an apparent accidental shooting at Wallace Woods, according to a CMPD incident report.

Police urge anyone with information about Monday’s shooting to call 704-432-8477 (TIPS) and speak with a detective, or leave tips anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or at charlottecrimestoppers.com.

“There is a 4-year-old little boy fighting for his life,” Robinson told reporters, “and it is important that somebody who knows something calls us so we can partner with them and solve this crime.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 10:29 PM.