‘Go back to being kids’: Young suspects accounting for more crime in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — From shootings to car thefts, there’s a troubling trend in Charlotte, which is that many of the suspects are young people. Some are as young as 11 years old.

The rate at which we’re seeing juveniles pulling the trigger is pointing to a greater community problem. On Thursday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department put a spotlight on the issue.

CMPD says shootings across the city are up about 2% overall, but in 79 shootings so far this year, the suspects have been under 18. That’s a 32% jump from this time last year.

“Our kids need to go back to being kids,” a CMPD officer said Thursday. “Our juveniles are on the wrong track.”

Police showed several guns that were found under one 17-year-old’s bed, including two AR-15s, and a stolen Glock with an extended magazine. The teenager was one of two people arrested in a drive-by shooting last month.

Stolen cars are another major crime among Charlotte’s youth.

CMPD says so far this year, more than 5,800 cars have been stolen in Charlotte.

Investigators say juveniles are to blame for about 70% of those thefts.

“It goes back to parenting, being involved in your child’s life, making sure they’re not engaging in criminal activity,” said one CMPD officer. “There’s no reason for your child to be out at 4 a.m. walking around in someone’s neighborhood checking doorknobs.”

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Police say many of the teen suspects in those stolen car cases are repeat offenders. Some have been arrested more than a half-dozen times.

CMPD told Channel 9 crime reporter Hunter Sáenz that they’re trying a new approach, which is to visit apartment complexes where there are a lot of stolen cars, and offer wheel locks to car owners.

VIDEO: ‘Find another way’

Community remembers man killed at Wendy's in north Charlotte

Mothers of Murdered Offspring held a candlelight vigil hours after CMPD’s news conference for 19-year-old Jkarri Anderson, who was killed protecting his coworkers earlier in October at the Northlake Wendy’s.

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MOMO has been supporting families and fighting against crime for more than 30 years.

“Having a gun is now just another thing that’s OK to have and I don’t understand that,” said Lisa Crawford, who heads MOMO.

She would like to see guns taken off the streets and said more parents need to get involved.

“It’s like they say, ‘Live by it. Die by it.’ And we have got to find another way,” Crawford said. “And we have got to take them away. We, as adults, have got to say, ‘No more guns.’”

Anderson will be laid to rest on Saturday.

Violent crime down, property crimes way up

CMPD’s statistics that were released Thursday show that there’s been a slight downtick in violent crime overall, including homicides, rapes, and armed robberies.

But criminals who target property have surpassed last year’s numbers already. So far, there have been 27,842 property crimes in Charlotte, compared to 24,378 at this time last year.

Here’s a breakdown of the comparison to last year, according to CMPD.