Officer shoots woman who allegedly shot store owner

CMPD chief Johnny Jennings said an incident in which a police officer shot a woman as she fled the scene of another shootout in her car on Thursday afternoon was caught on surveillance video , and he thinks the officer was justified in using force.

During a press briefing at the scene of the police shooting on Thursday, Jennings alleged that the woman, later identified as Raynique Austin, 23, shot the owner of an EC Beauty Supply store on Tyvola Road near South Boulevard, then tried to run over the first police officer to arrive at the scene. This officer, later identified as Dustin Smith, fired his gun at Austin’s car, which she then left. After a brief chase, Austin was apprehended in a parking lot at a nearby apartment complex, where it was discovered that she had been shot several times. .

“This is one of those situations where we never want it to end that way, but we have video evidence that supports all of the accounts I just told you,” Jennings said Thursday. “I was able to view this video and unfortunately the officer had no choice but to use lethal force.”

In response to a Queen City Nerve investigation, a police official said the CMPD did not intend to release related footage to the public while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations investigates the incident, all like protocol for any police shootout involving a CMPD officer.

On Friday, CMPD said Austin was at this point in stable condition and upon discharge from hospital she will be charged with attempted murder, five counts of hit-and-run, flight to escape the hospital. arrest and property damage.

Smith, hired in the department on July 23, 2018, has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation – standard policy whenever there is a police shootout or an officer discharges his gun.

Lowe’s donates $ 1 million to transition from rooftop above hotel

Roof Above on Thursday announced a $ 1 million donation from Lowe’s to fund the organization’s previously announced plan to convert a hotel on Clanton Road into permanent supportive housing for the homeless.

First announced in December, Roof Above reached an agreement to purchase a hotel at the intersection of Clanton Road and Interstate 77. The 88-unit hotel met an immediate need last winter as a as emergency shelter for women and families through a partnership with the Salvation Army Center. of Hope, and renovations are underway to transform the hotel into permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $ 12 million, including the purchase price, the renovation of the existing building and the construction of a support service wing.

Each existing hotel room will be renovated into a studio with kitchen. In addition to Lowe’s $ 1 million philanthropic contribution to the project, the company also provided the new appliances for each unit at a reduced rate. The addition of the Support Services Wing will provide space for robust services, including case management and health care support. Renters will pay a third of their income for rent.

Currently, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has a gap of 23,060 affordable rental units for households with incomes equal to or less than 30% of the region’s average income, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing and Homelessness Dashboard. . In addition, as of June 30, there were more than 3,135 homeless people in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, including more than 515 chronically homeless.

The city publishes the proposed redistribution maps

The Charlotte City Redistribution ad hoc committee on Wednesday released its three proposed redistribution maps as part of the city’s 2021 redistribution efforts. For background, local data analyst Jarrett Hurms created this Twitter thread showing which neighborhoods could potentially change municipal districts based on the map projects, although he stressed that he did so in his spare time and not in an official capacity for the city.

The redistribution committee, made up of board members Graham, Dimple Ajmera, Greg Phipps and Ed Driggs, was tasked with developing redistribution recommendations guided by seven principles, three of which were to be prioritized as “first-rate principles”:

• Districts should have a roughly equal population – one person / one vote rule. (obligatory)
• Districts should be reasonably compact. (highly recommended)
• District boundaries may follow neighborhood boundaries or boundaries of areas containing residents with similar interests.

The four “second-order principles” have been listed as follows:

• District boundaries can follow constituency boundaries.
• District boundaries can be drawn taking into account the race of district residents as long as race is not the predominant motivating factor.
• Districts most likely to be affected by future annexations (or growth rates) may be smaller to minimize the impact of future annexations on future redistributions.
• The boundaries of the districts can be drawn to avoid conflicts between the incumbents.

A virtual listening session with constituency committee members and staff is scheduled for October 5 at 6 p.m. Participants wishing to speak must complete the listening session registration form. The session will also be webcast live on the city’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. A public hearing will be held at the Charlotte City Council meeting on October 18. Speakers must complete the Speakers Registration Form to register.

County ready to administer booster shots by Monday

Following a CDC and FDA recommendation that people 65 years and older who have received Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines receive booster shots to boost their immunity, the Mecklenburg County Director of Public Health Gibbie Harris released a statement Friday saying the county is “prepared to deliver third doses of Pfizer vaccine to eligible people on Monday, September 27 at all public health vaccination sites.” “

Harris said his department was awaiting further clinical advice from the CDC, as its recommendations regarding frontline workers conflicted with the FDA, and specific advice from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services regarding people eligible for a third dose of Pfizer on Monday.

According to the most recent data released Friday morning, 659,318 residents of Mecklenburg County, or about 59% of the population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. About 55% were fully immunized.

According to the same data release, there have been 3,760 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 among residents of Mecklenburg County over the past week, and 27 deaths resulting from the coronavirus. According to more detailed data on cases up to Wednesday, there had been an average of 473 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day over the past week, a downward trend from previous weeks. On average, 388 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on any given day, and there was a 10.1% test positivity rate among county residents, with both trends on the decline.

Body found in southeast Charlotte Pond

It is not known what caused the death of a person found floating in a pond in southeast Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon. Officers responded to a call on Village Lake Drive just before 2 p.m. Tuesday and found the body at that time. As is standard procedure for any sudden or unexpected death, detectives from the CMPD’s Homicide Unit responded to the scene to investigate, while Crime Scene Search responded to process the scene and gather evidence. material. It is not yet known whether the case will be considered a homicide.

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