CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police said they have made two arrests days after a shootout left two people dead and another injured just outside uptown Charlotte.
Officers were called just after 9 p.m. Wednesday to a parking lot on West Morehead Street. When they arrived, they found a man who had been shot.
[PHOTOS: Triple shooting just outside uptown Charlotte]
Two other men were found inside a car on Grandin Road, just two blocks from the parking lot on Morehead Street. They had also been shot, according to police.
All three men were taken to the hospital where two of them were pronounced dead.
Police identified the men who died as Ibn Marshall, 17, and Anu’bius Smith, 18.
Year-to-Date CMPD homicide comparison (2/27/19):
- 2017: 15
- 2018: 6
- 2019: 25
The following day, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney sent out a news release specifying how the department is making efforts to reduce crime in the Queen City.
We first updated WSOCTV news app users with a notification just before 5 a.m. Thursday that the victims had been identified. Download the WSOCTV news app for your smartphone and get updates on this developing story as they come in.
[ [ALSO READ: Surge in Charlotte homicides brings back memories of violence during 2005, 90s] ]
Investigators told Channel 9 all three men were shot on Grandin Street. Two of the victims stayed in the vehicle while the third man ran to the parking lot on Morehead Street.
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Police said two guns and some marijuana were found at the crime scene.
On Friday, police confirmed that the man who was shot but survived, Furqan Grice, has been arrested and charged in the murders. Another man, Anthony Goodson, was arrested Friday morning and was being interviewed by detectives.
(Grice)
The double homicide happened in an area outside uptown that is exploding with new restaurants, breweries and homes.
Wesley Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.
Henrietta Howey has known the family of one of the victims for years.
"I can't remember the last time something like this happened,” Howey said. “I think that's why everybody is so stunned to know the fact her husband just passed."
[2016 article: Police identify man shot, killed outside uptown Charlotte]
The deaths raise the number of killings in Charlotte in 2019 to 25, which amounts to a homicide nearly every other day this year.
2017 was Charlotte’s most violent year in 25 years. To help put 2019’s violence into perspective, by this same time in 2017, the city had just 14 homicides.
[ALSO READ: Charlotte homicide rate in 2018 dropped more than 30 percent from 2017]
Another troubling aspect is that the murders are spread across the city -- they're not concentrated in any one place -- making it difficult for police to target troubled areas.
“Sadly, most of the violent activity that we have experienced in our community has involved victims and suspects who are known acquaintances engaged in high-risk behavior or others who were involved in personal relationships that turned violent,” CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said in a news release.
Police Department officials said public safety “requires a shared effort between police, community members and our partners.”
CMPD said it has made several efforts to curb violence, which includes increasing the number of officers to areas with an increase in violence. Police presence in certain areas has also been increased.
There is an effort to prevent retaliatory violence, Putney said.
It also identifies violent repeat offenders as a priority and brings in state and federal prosecutors to protect the community.
There are more CMPD Crisis Intervention Team officers and the department is partnering with mental health professionals to create a team, which should be assembled by May 1, Putney said.
Detectives also continue to bring domestic violence awareness to the community.
Police have not released a motive in Wednesday night’s shootings.
Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.