CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot and killed a man over the weekend after the man allegedly held his 13-year-old stepdaughter at knifepoint.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s tweet from 8:10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18, the shooting occurred in the 10000 block of Blairbeth Street in Ballantyne, not far from Big View Diner near the South Carolina border.
Chief Johnny Jennings says the man forced his way into the home of his ex-wife and her daughter, who was inside.
When police arrived, they say the man had a knife to the 13-year-old and eventually began stabbing her multiple times. That’s when one officer shot and killed the man.
The girl was reportedly transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Jennings says investigators do not know the motive behind the incident just yet and they probably never will now that the man is dead.
According to Jennings, it’s safe to say that this was a hostage situation, but they don’t know how long the man had the girl under control.
“There is the question whether she was stabbed previously to the encounter with the officers but what we know now is that as she’s being treated, she’s being treated for multiple stab wounds and that’s still something that has to be uncovered once we talk to the officers,” Jennings told the media during a briefing.
The police chief describes the responding officers’ actions as heroic.
Authorities say the officer who fired the shot is distraught and upset that the situation came to this, but the department plans to get them whatever help they need.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in North Carolina is now investigating the incident.
Representatives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department say this is the third officer-involved shooting this year.
