CHARLOTTE — Police are looking for whoever sprayed gunfire at a house in north Charlotte, injuring a boy while he slept.
Officers were called just before 1 a.m. Wednesday to the house on Dervish Lane, just north of Interstate 485 near Prosperity Church Road.
Police said the 7-year-old had been shot while he was asleep in his bed. He was taken to the hospital but officials told Channel 9 he was shot in the shoulder and is expected to be OK.
Police sources confirmed that he is the same 7-year-old boy who brought a loaded gun onto a school bus in Huntersville last month and threatened classmates with it.
The bus was going to Blythe Elementary School and one of the students said that after that incident, the boy threatened to kill him for sitting in his seat.
Huntersville police charged the 7-year-old with assault by pointing a gun and having a weapon on a school campus.
CMPD Major Allen Rutledge said officers believe the home was targeted, so they do not think this was a random act.
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They said it was the only house in the cul-de-sac that was hit by gunfire and the weapon used was powerful enough to fire bullets through the metal and wood of the home.
Channel 9 crews could see crime scene technicians collecting evidence with help from the Charlotte Fire Department and a mobile command center.
CMPD has not made any arrests or released a possible motive. They’ve been talking to neighbors to learn if anyone heard or saw anything.
Rutledge said his Shooting into Occupied Dwellings Task Force is investigating the case. He also highlighted his team’s work to remove guns from the streets by pointing out a massive seizure of weapons reported last week.
“All of this is certainly a result of firearms ending up in the hands of the wrong folks,” Rutledge said.
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Resident Jackie Coffee and other neighbors said they have enjoyed peace and quiet along Dervish Lane, where many children live. Now, they are worried their neighborhood could take a turn if something isn’t done soon.
“People need to find a better way to resolve issues,” Coffee said. “Violence, gun violence, it’s never an answer to anything. It just causes more heartache and trouble. Certainly, my prayers and the rest of the neighbors. Prayers are with this little boy, you know hope that everything is OK.”
Channel 9 crime-mapped the address to the beginning of the year and there have been no violent crimes within a half-mile radius.
There were six larceny reports, three burglaries and three non-aggravated assaults.
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