North Charlotte neighborhood on edge after two crimes in less than 12 hours

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Neighbors along a north Charlotte road are ready to clean up their streets after two unnerving crimes in 12 hours.

The most recent happened Tuesday night when police said suspects stole a SUV that was left running outside a Quik Shoppe along Brookshire Boulevard before crashing into a home a few miles away.

[IMAGES: Stolen SUV slams into north Charlotte home]

Officers said the victim left his keys in the ignition and went inside. That’s when he saw two men get in the SUV.

The victim ran outside and punched the glass in an effort to stop them, and cut his hand. He was taken to the hospital for stitches, police said.

The suspects sped off, and drove about three miles into a neighborhood nearby, where police told Channel 9 they jumped out of the SUV while it was still moving.

The vehicle then rolled into a house on Milan Road, damaging the front of the home. The vehicle put a hole in the wall, broke a window and tore up the yard.

Nobody was hurt inside the house.

The homeowner showed Channel 9 the guest bedroom, where the force of the impact cracked a wall and pushed a bed.

Carol Ford said she was scared and woke up to a loud boom.

“I was just amazed that’s what really happened,” she said. “Somebody would steal a vehicle, run into someone's home, and leave. You know?”

No suspect information has been released.

Neighbors on edge after two crimes in less than 12 hours

Wednesday's crime happened on the same street where several people were racing stolen dirt bikes on Tuesday, leading police on a high-speed chase through traffic.

Channel 9 dug through crime data for the streets within a quarter mile of the two latest crimes and found that within the past six months there have been more than 40 crimes.

The long list includes cases like robberies, burglaries, assaults and stolen vehicles.

"Our neighborhood has been turned totally upside down," neighbor Gerthia Barber said. "You hear shots at night. Every time you turn around you're see police over here."

Neighbors who used to leave their doors unlocked now hear gunshots at night, and told Channel 9 that they're worried about their safety because they never know what they'll wake up to in the morning.

"I'm not scared for myself but for my wife and my daughter because that could've easily been her bedroom that they ran into," neighbor Allen Randolph said.

Neighbors said they are so upset about the crime that they are ready to start pushing police to increase patrols in the neighborhood.

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