Disgruntled patron fired shots at popular uptown bar, police say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have a man in custody after they said he fired shots outside a popular uptown bar overnight.

Investigators said 28-year-old Thomas Kerr fired four shots outside of Connolly’s on East Fifth Street around 2:30 a.m., striking a column near the door.

There were four employees in the building at the time but police said nobody was hurt.

Officers said another bar patron held Kerr down until they arrived.

"I actually fear for my life and fear for my family's life when I hear something like that,” said an uptown patron.

Police told Channel 9 on the scene that Kerr was kicked out of the bar and later returned with a gun.

Employees at a neighboring bar said this is a highly populated area and that this type of thing just doesn’t happen in that part of town.

Kerr was charged with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of shooting into a occupied dwelling, damage to property, discharging a firearm in the city limits and carrying a concealed weapon.

Crimes reported in the last month a half-mile around the bar include 36 violent crimes, most were assaults and there was a strong armed robbery next to Connolly’s four days ago.

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