CMPD: Man killed after shots fired into north Charlotte home

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police told Channel 9 a man was killed in an early morning shooting in north Charlotte.

Officers said the shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. on Datha Avenue, near Statesville Road.

[ PHOTOS: CMPD investigating deadly north Charlotte shooting ]

Police responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call and when they arrived found a man who had been shot.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His name has not been released but relatives identified him as 48-year-old Ralph Anthony Johnson.

Detectives said someone fired shots through the front door, striking Johnson, and that the suspect forced their way inside.

Two other people were inside the house at the time of the shooting, but were not hurt, investigators said.

A woman who was speaking on behalf of the victim's family because they were too distraught to talk told Channel 9 that the gunman yelled "Police! Police!" before shooting into the house.

Johnson had three children, according to his mother-in-law, who also told Channel 9 that after the shots were fired the gunman kicked in the door and shot Johnson at point blank range.

Channel 9 saw Chief Kerr Putney on the scene speaking with officers, some who were going door-to-door in the neighborhood looking for witnesses.

Police spent more than four hours looking for evidence at the home, while Johnson's family tried to understand why he would have been targeted.

"No he didn't cause no trouble," said his son Justin Johnson. "He took care of his family, he raised his kids. At the end of the day people just need to stop with the nonsense. Hate, that's all it's about, people hating on each other."

Police told Channel 9 that they were looking for two people, but have not released any descriptions.

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