CMPD: Arrest made after woman kidnapped, raped at gunpoint on Halloween

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have charged a man with the rape and kidnapping of a woman on Halloween morning.

The woman told Channel 9 she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a stranger.

CMPD said the woman was walking to her car, parked on Ethel Guest Lane near Oaklawn and Statesville Avenues, in north Charlotte at about 5 a.m. when she said a man with a gun came from behind, threatened her, took her to his car and drove her away, where he then sexually assaulted her.

“It was very, very terrifying,” she said. “I could not stop crying.”

The woman told Channel 9 she believed the man had been following her before the attack.

“It hurts and angers me to know that he could be doing this to other females as well,” she said.

The woman told Channel 9 she had parked her car to go to a party Saturday night. She was taking a Lyft back to her car and moments after she got out of the ride, the man grabbed her from behind and put a gun to her head.

“He said if I wanted to live, ‘You have to be quiet and do whatever I say,’ and I just said, ‘OK,’” she said.

She said he then forced her into his car and started to drive.

“He drove maybe like twenty seconds. He stopped the car and he started to sexually assault me,” she said. “He just kept saying, ‘You better be quiet or I’ll kill you.’”

She said she never saw her attacker’s face, but police shared images from a surveillance camera.

On Monday, police said they had charged Tristian Gilmore, 29, for his involvement. Officers said they were able to create a DNA profile from evidence at the scene and matched that information to Gilmore’s. Police arrested him on Friday and charged him with assault by pointing a firearm, communicating threats, assault on a female, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sex offense, first-degree rape, and possession of a firearm by felon.

The victim said after the attack, the man drove her back to her car and she drove home and called the police. Once the fear subsided, she found the courage to share her story, because she said she didn’t want anyone else to go through her nightmare.

“I never thought that it would have happened to me. It’s such a scary world,” she said. “I’m so glad I came out of this alive because I didn’t know what was going to happen to me that night.”

She said she doesn’t go anywhere alone after the attack, and even brought someone with her to speak to Channel 9.

CMPD is actively investigating and asked anyone in the community with information to leave it anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or by clicking here.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

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18-year-old in custody, accused of several sex assaults, offenses over 2-month span

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