3 suspects arrested in shooting that injured a 7-year-old girl, CMPD chief says

Amanda Zhou, Mark Price, Jeff Siner
·3 min read

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said there is evidence that connects two shootings that occurred Tuesday afternoon and injured three minors, including a 7-year-old girl.

On Tuesday, police said officers responded to a 911 call near a convenience store on Hovis Road around 3 p.m. During a news conference Wednesday, CMPD Maj. Brian Foley said two teenagers had been targeted and shot at from a vehicle. They ran to a nearby house for medical attention, Foley said.

Around 7 p.m., CMPD said a 7-year-old girl was struck by a stray bullet fired among a group of people involved in a gunfight less than a mile away in the 1000 block of Marble Street in northwest Charlotte. The neighborhood is north of the intersection of Freedom Drive and Interstate 77, and includes a mix of single-family homes and townhomes.

“We have a 7-year-old girl who was struck by gunfire and all she was doing was playing in her own neighborhood,” Foley said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, center, bumps fists with an attendee at a community conversation at the Hoskins Avenue Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. The community conversation was held as a result of two shootings that occurred on Tuesday afternoon that three minors were injured by gunfire including a 7-year-old girl.

On Wednesday afternoon, following a community gathering at Hoskins Avenue Baptist Church, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said three arrests had been made in connection with the girl’s shooting.

Late Wednesday night, CMPD named three men charged in the incident.

Detectives identified Shiodon Shipp, 23, as a “subject of interest” in the case, according to a CMPD statement. Officers found Shipp inside a home near the 4000 block of Hovis Road, where he was arrested on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

CMPD said the shooting investigation also led to the arrest of Alvin Steele, 20, following a traffic stop. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. The charges are “directly associated” with the girl’s shooting, police said.

Police also arrested Jarvis Short Jr., 28, who was a passenger inside the vehicle with Steele. Short was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jennings said a deputy chief visited the girl in the hospital Wednesday.

“It’s a blessing to know that she’s in stable condition now,” Jennings said about the girl. “She’s in good spirits, and so that makes me happy, but at the same time, the frustration that she shouldn’t be put in that situation in the first place.”

The two teenage boys also are in a stable condition, Foley said earlier.

CMPD: ‘We’re asking for help’

The initial investigation indicated that the suspects were shooting at each other in the apartment complex parking lot, CMPD said in a news release.

Foley declined to detail what evidence has led police to believe the two shootings are related, citing the ongoing investigation.

CMPD said it had over 50 officers on the scene in the aftermath of the shootings. Police are pursuing some leads but said they have received relatively few tips from the community.

“We still have very little communication from our residents, people who work in that community,” Foley said. “I’m really at a loss to explain why.”

Foley said Charlotte has seen 101 gunshot wound cases in 2021, a 9% increase from this time last year. He also called upon the community to offer more tips on the suspects.

“The inability of people to be able to solve conflicts is something that we have got to work together to resolve,” he said. “We’re asking for help.”

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call CMPD at 704-432-TIPS, or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com.