CMPD: Woman taken into custody after firing rifle near Epicentre in uptown

CHARLOTTE — A woman was taken into custody after firing a rifle near the Epicentre in uptown Charlotte, according to police.

A portion of College Street in uptown Charlotte was blocked Monday morning as police responded to a shooting call.

Channel 9 crews were at Fourth Street and S. College Street and could see dozens of CMPD officers, some of them with their guns drawn.

According to CMPD, around 6:45 a.m. officers were called to the scene on S. College Street. When they arrived, police were told by a security officer that a woman was armed with a rifle and had fired a round near security.

Nobody was hit by the bullet and no officers returned fired.

CMPD shut down Trade Street and the surrounding area while officers evacuated the immediate area and set up a perimeter to secure the scene.

Officers had surrounded a red car and appeared to be shouting at someone inside of it, according to reporter Tina Terry. Officers in SWAT gear looked to be arriving as well.

Shortly after 7:30 a.m., members of CMPD’s SWAT Team were able to take the woman into custody safely. A CMPD source told Channel 9 anchor Allison Latos that the woman was suicidal.

The woman was taken to a medical facility to be evaluated, police said.

CMPD credited a collaborative effort between responding officers, the Community Policing Crisis Response Team (CPCRT), and CMPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team with being able to deescalate the situation.

“Officers recognize more and more that we have time on our side. You don’t need to get in there immediately and address the situation,” CMPD Capt. Brad Koch said.

The incident was the third time in less than a week where officers confronted someone with a gun and walked away with no one hurt -- even some police critics say that’s no coincidence.

“What we’ve seen is a commitment both on the grassroots and the police side to work on two things -- de-escalation and mental health,” Robert Dawkins with Safe Coalition NC said.

Dawkins has been pushing for police reform and accountability. He’s encouraged by the changes he has seen at CMPD.

It has been two years since CMPD has been involved in a fatal shooting.

“What I can say is the steps that we, the grassroots community and the police have taken, it set that process going. So I can’t say it’s 100 percent but I can say we’re moving in that direction,” Dawkins said.

Police were urging people to avoid the area near the Epicentre as College Street and Trade Street were temporarily closed. By 8 a.m., those roads were reopened.

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