1 shot, killed at east Charlotte apartment complex, police say

CHARLOTTE — A man was shot and killed at an apartment complex in east Charlotte Sunday morning, police said.

Around 5 a.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers were called to Winged Elm Court, which is near Albemarle Road. When they arrived, they found someone who had been shot.

That victim died at the scene. His family identified him as 23-year-old Kevin Gabriel Merlos.

Investigators didn’t share anything about a search for a suspect.

Neighbors frustrated

Residents nearby told Channel 9′s Almiya White on Monday that they’ve seen crime progress in the apartment complex, and because of that, they’re looking to move.

Tonya Burns lives at Woodland Estates and she says she’s fed up with the uptick in crime.

“Pretty much unsafe because for me, I have five grandkids I can’t let them come out and play,” Burns told White. “The other night when a person lost their life up the street, that done happen numerous times.”

Burns says she was home at the time of the shooting on Sunday and heard at least six gunshots.

“We heard the first three shots. The last three, I was already on the floor,” Burns said.

Another neighbor, Charles Doe, said people are too quick to pull out guns.

“If you have your concerns or if someone confronts you, call the higher authority and they will handle it, but not you taking the law into your own hands and taking away people’s life,” Doe told White.

This isn’t the first crime we’ve covered in this area. In 2023, we reported a string of break-ins and robberies along Winged Elm Court. In 2021, a CMPD officer was shot in this same complex by a 14-year-old boy.

Burns says she’s considering leaving the place she’s called home for the last six years.

“We’re going to end up looking into moving because you can’t keep on going through the same thing and nothing change,” Burns said.

Police said this shooting was not random. It was the result of an altercation between the victim and an unknown suspect.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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