Last Updated on June 22, 2020
Two people have died and seven were injured at a shooting during “Juneteenth” celebrations in Charlotte, NC, with a further five hit by vehicles.
An “impromptu block-party” thrown in Charlotte, North Carolina, to celebrate Juneteenth, the date on which the last black slaves in the former Confederate state of Texas learned of their freedom in 1865, saw multiple people injured in a shooting.
In a video posted to Facebook, emergency services can be seen arriving at the scene at around midnight on Monday morning, following reports that a pedestrian was injured by a car. Shortly after, shots can be heard from across the street of the filmer, and the crowd starts fleeing.
https://www.facebook.com/gut.williams/videos/3199983590040367
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Nine people were injured in the shooting. Two were confirmed dead, while the remaining seven were then transferred to hospitals, with at least five of them suffering from “serious injuries.”
During the chaos caused by the shooting, a further five people were struck by vehicles when trying to run away from the gunfire.
The Juneteenth event stated on Friday and had been going on all weekend according to those at the scene, with a number of attendees performing donuts in the road with their cars, and even starting illegal street-races. At this time, the police have not confirmed or denied as to whether the shooting had any connection to the races.
Photos from the scene show the aftermath of the Juneteenth party and the shooting, with balloons strewn across the area and donut marks clearly left in the road.
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A very hectic scene on Beatties Ford Rd near Catherine Simmons. There are over 20 CMPD vehicles on scene and multiple medic and fire units are also here.@WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/U49gD4BTPH— Taylor Simpson WBTV (@TaylorSimpsonTV) June 22, 2020
Police sources have said that “preliminary information gathered during the investigation indicates that several shooters discharged dozens of shots in to the crowd who had been gathered in the area,” but have not confirmed the number of shooters involved.
