Approximately 1 in 5 of Charlotte’s shooting victims were children, police statistics from the first half of the year show.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced shooting statistics on Friday as part of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. These statistics paint a grim picture, but are still better than last year’s, according to officials.
In the first six months of 2023, there have been 2,359 victims of firearm-related crime in Charlotte, according to CMPD. This number is down approximately 4% from the same period last year.
These shootings killed 27 people, including three children, according to CMPD.
Another 426 juveniles were victims of a shooting and 90 juveniles were suspects in shootings. In the first half of last year, 482 juveniles were shooting victims and 118 were suspects.
A series of stories by the Charlotte Observer this year found that shootings involving kids and teens are on the rise over the past few years and have a devastating impact on families and communities.
As of 2020, shootings surpassed car accidents as the the leading cause of death in children under 18 in the U.S., according to a CNN analysis of CDC data.
Curbing these shootings is CMPD’s top priority, Chief Johnny Jennings said Friday.
“There is no one who is unaffected by the public health crisis that is gun violence,” Jennings said. “Victims result from every pull of the trigger in our city. We need community involvement from every corner and from every walk of life, for the good of Charlotte.”
‘What we owe to each other’
There were 342 shootings into homes, cars and other occupied property this year, according to CMPD. This includes the shooting into a home that seriously injured an 8-year-old girl in April.
A total of 1,392 guns have been seized as evidence in these shootings and other Charlotte crimes, and 679 guns have been reported stolen, according to the data.
There is no acceptable level of gun violence, CMPD officials say.
“Preventing continued victimization in our community, for our community – is what we owe to each other,” Jennings said.
This story was originally published June 02, 2023 12:55 PM.
