CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At least two people were killed and a dozen people were injured when a Juneteenth celebration turned violent on Beatties Ford Road in north Charlotte late Sunday night, police said.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, officers responded to a report of a pedestrian being hit on Beatties Ford Road around 12:30 a.m. When officers were on their way, multiple shots were fired. Medic was first to the scene, and witnesses say that’s when shots rang out. A woman was pronounced dead at the scene after she was shot.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, officials confirmed two people were killed, seven people were shot and five others were hit by cars during the incident.
Witnesses said the chaos broke out during what was supposed to be the last night of Juneteenth celebrations. A video posted on Twitter showed the scene when an ambulance arrived for a report of someone being hit by a car. It was at this time that shots were fired, with more than 20 shots being heard on video.
” I heard about 60 or 70 shots, sounded like, people were running everywhere, cars were leaving,” said one person. “It’s just sad someone took something that was an event that was supposed to be an event and turned it into a massacre, a nightmare for families. People lost their loved ones, people out here in the streets dead. Charlotte’s better than this.”
Police said Beatties Ford Road will be closed from Dr. Webber Drive to La Salle Street for several hours while they investigate.
