Officer shoots, kills man stabbing 13-year-old girl in Ballantyne – WSOC TV

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot and killed a man who police said stabbed his ex-wife’s 13-year-old daughter several times Saturday evening in a Ballantyne neighborhood.

Authorities responded just before 7 p.m. to the scene on Blairbeth Street near Lancaster Highway.

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According to CMPD, a man broke into his ex-wife’s home during an argument. Investigators said the woman was able to get out of the house, but her daughter was still inside. The man then held the teen at knifepoint as officers tried to de-escalate the situation, CMPD said.

That’s when, suddenly, the man started stabbing the girl, according to police. An officer then shot the man.

CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings described the incident as almost like a hostage situation.

“Upon officers’ arrival, they encountered the subject who had a knife to the juvenile at the time. The officers were trying to de-escalate the situation. The gentleman did stab the young lady,” Jennings said.

MEDIC pronounced the man dead at the scene but his name has not yet been released. The man’s knife was recovered by officers, CMPD said.

The teenage girl was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. As of Sunday, she is in stable condition, police sources said.

Police said no officers were hurt during the incident.

“We never want to see a case like this end up where anyone is injured or, much less, killed, but I think our officers did what they had to do,” Jennings told Channel 9. “They were heroic in their actions, however, it did not turn out the way we’d like it to.”

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Dr. Janne Gaub is a police body camera expert at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She said the officers were presented with the kind of situation that almost never happens and is the toughest that any police officers can face.

“Is she too close? What’s the likelihood that I’m gonna hit her instead of him? But on the flip side of that, what is the likelihood that if I do nothing that something worse happens? So, it’s a calculus that every officer goes through that has to be involved in a situation like this,” Gaub said.

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The officer who shot the man will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure when an officer discharges a firearm. The police officer involved has not been identified at this point.

The Internal Affairs Bureau will also conduct a separate investigation, a standard procedure with any officer-involved shooting. This is an ongoing investigation.

Return to this story for updates.

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