Police identify 2 men shot to death at north Charlotte apartments

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating after two men were shot to death late Tuesday night at a north Charlotte apartment complex.

[PHOTOS: 2 men shot to death at north Charlotte apartments]

The night of violence comes as Chief Kerr Putney prepared to release a plan outlining how officers will tackle crime over the summer.

Police were called to The Edge at NoDa apartments on Hilo Drive, off North Tryon Street, just before 11:30 p.m. after reports of shots fired in the area.

When they arrived, officers found one man shot in the stairwell and another who had been shot just inside the doorway to the apartment.

Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers identified them as Jared Chatman, 29, and Sanchez McClure, 28. Detectives said the incident appeared to be drug related.

No arrests have been made and police are looking for witnesses.

The deaths marked Charlotte’s 45th and 46th homicide of 2017, double the amount at the same time last year.

Minutes before responding to the double homicide, officers were investigating another homicide in east Charlotte after a man was found shot to death inside a car.

[PHOTOS: Homicide victims of 2017]

[PHOTOS: Suspects in 2017 homicide cases]

Police started bringing in extra officers to help patrol streets in the North Tryon Division nearly five months ago to try to cut down on crime. That is the same part of the city where Tuesday night’s homicides took place.

(Click PLAY for RAW SCENE VIDEO from Hilo Drive)

The new crime fighting strategy is called Project Avalanche. Police began the program in January after half of the city's homicides were concentrated in the north Charlotte area.

Officers beefed up their patrols by bringing in extra officers from other neighborhoods where there isn't as much violent crime.

Channel 9 checked on the program's progress in April and found that in the first 11 weeks, police said they saw an 86 percent drop in violent crime.

This is an ongoing homicide investigation and anyone with information is asked to call police.

Homicide Timeline in Charlotte in 2017:

1. Jan. 2 – Natanael Rodriguez (no arrests)

2. Jan. 3 – Shenika Simpson (Michael Boone arrested)

3. Jan. 3 – Anthony Frazier (Mangasha Clark and Reginald Edmonds arrested)

4. Jan. 4 – Jabari Stewart (no arrests)

5. Jan. 12 – Massaquoi Kotay (Desmond Black and Shalome Scott arrested)

6. Jan. 12 – Milton Graham (Latisha Johnson arrested)

7. Jan. 13 – Thomas Beatty Jr. (no arrests)

8. Jan. 17 – Majestic Bush (Chaz Bush arrested)

9. Jan. 26 – Stephon White (Alexander Miller arrested)

10. Feb. 14 – David Eadie (Jaquan Dosdos arrested)

11. Feb. 15 – Walter Scott Jr. (Roger Best arrested)

12. Feb. 19 – Chris Allen (Carlos Olguin arrested)

13. Feb. 22 – David Brannon (Austin Kelligan arrested)

14. Feb. 25 – Bryan Thompson (Robert Driver arrested)

15. March 14 – Germany Byers (Kyerra Guinn and Johnquin Rowell arrested)

16. March 16 – Frolian Perdoma (no arrests)

17. March 17 – Yesenia McMillon (Corey Shirly arrested)

18. March 17 – Deandre Oslon (Corey Shirly arrested)

19. March 21 – Carson Christian Jr. (Treymaine Johnson arrested)

20. March 22 – Tyshaud Brown (no arrests)

21. March 24 – Michael Morris (no arrests)

22. March 28 – Laymon Moore (no arrests)

23. April 1 – Jarel Grace (Shenika James arrested)

24. April 2 – Ruby Atkinson (Curtis Atkinson Jr. and Nikkia Cooper arrested)

25. April 2 – Curtis Atkinson Sr. (Curtis Atkinson Jr. and Nikkia Cooper arrested)

26. April 5 – Jennifer Smith (Leroy Cooper III arrested)

27. April 5 – Kevin Marquez (no arrests)

28. April 10 – Marcella Thrash (Dionte Long)

29. April 26 – Michael Barnwell (no arrests)

30. May 3 – Tiara Clark (Byron Howington)

31. May 16 – Keith Ross (no arrests)

32. May 21 – Marlo Medina-Chevez (Diontray Adams and James Stevens arrested)

33. May 26 – Julian Williams (Andre Amir Young-Johnson arrested)

34. May 27 – Anderson Biggers (no arrests)

35. May 29 – Bobby Wesley Jr.(Daniel Cowan arrested)

36. May 29 – Daveon Andrews (no arrests)

37. June 3 – Archie McGill (Gary McGill arrested)

38. June 4 – Lucas Baldwin (William Medlin arrested)

39. June 5 – William Weddington (Maurice Grant arrested)

40. June 8 – A’dan Blackmon (Christopher Sims arrested)

41. June 12 – Cornell Bridges (no arrests)

42. June 15 – Cornelius Drayton (Lex Chisholm arrested)

43. June 18 – Zachary Finch (no arrests)

44. June 20 – David Lindsay (no arrests)

45. June 20 – Sanchez McClure (no arrests)

46. June 20 – Jared Chatman (no arrests)

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