Police fatally shoot man who was stabbing his ex-wife’s 13-year-old daughter, CMPD says
Police said they shot and killed a man who “forced his way into his ex-wife’s home“ in the Ballantyne area in south Charlotte, and was stabbing her 13-year-old daughter Saturday night.
The woman managed to leave the house in the 10000 block of Blairbeth Street during the altercation, but her daughter was still inside, police said on Twitter.
The man had a knife to the girl when officers arrived, police Chief Johnny Jennings told reporters near the scene. It was shortly before 7 p.m.
“The officers were trying to deescalate the situation” when the man, “without warning,” began stabbing the girl, he said.
“They were met with something that horrific, to see a 13-year-old getting stabbed, and they were left with no choice,” Jennings said. “The motive to stab a 13-year-old is something that is beyond comprehension for us.”
The teen was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with multiple stab wounds and life-threatening injuries, police said. She is the stepdaughter of the man whom police killed, CMPD said.
Medic pronounced the man dead at the scene. Blairbeth Street is off Lancaster Highway/U.S. 521 near Ardrey Kell Road.
No officers were hurt, police said. The name of the person shot and killed by police hasn’t been released. The officer who fatally shot the man also has not yet been identified.
There were no updates yet on the case Sunday.
SBI investigating
The State Bureau of Investigation will be the primary agency on the case, CMPD said. This is standard procedure in such cases.
Whenever an officer shoots a person, CMPD internal affairs bureau conducts a separate but parallel investigation to determine if CMPD policies and procedures were followed. The officer will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard policy in police shootings, CMPD said.
CMPD has reported three other cases in which an officer has deadly force this year, including one in which a suspect died.
Previous shootings by CMPD officers
Saturday’s shooting is the fourth involving a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer in 2021:
▪ May 27 – Officer Trey Hinton shot and wounded a robbery suspect who fired at Hinton while running from police near a north Charlotte motel, CMPD said. Shelton Smith, 33, was taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail in June after his release from the hospital. Charges include attempted murder, assault on a law enforcement official or police officer with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.
▪ Sept. 23 – Officer Dustin Smith shot and wounded a woman outside a beauty supply store on Tyvola Road, near South Boulevard, after police said she fired a gun at the store owner. She then made “deliberate attempts” to hit Smith with her vehicle, forcing the officer to fire, Jennings said at the time.
A pursuit ended at an apartment complex in south Charlotte, where a wounded Raynique Austin was arrested. After her release from a hospital, Austin, 23, faced multiple charges, including attempted murder and five counts of hit and run.
▪ Nov. 5 – Officers James Longworth and Micah Edmunds shot and killed Derrell Lamar Raney, 33, after he threatened a Walmart security guard and pointed a gun at them in the Albemarle Road store in east Charlotte.
CMPD had just one officer-involved shooting in 2020.
In 2019, an internal affairs report showed CMPD officers were involved in six deadly force incidents, four of which resulted in fatal injuries to the suspect. In five of the six cases, the suspect had a firearm when the officers discharged their weapon; in the sixth case, the suspect had a knife.
In 2018, officers were involved in five deadly force incidents, two of which resulted in fatal injuries to the suspect, according to a CMPD internal affairs report. In three of the five cases, the suspect had a firearm when the officers discharged their weapon.
In the fourth case, the suspect had a knife, and in the fifth case, the suspect drove a car toward an officer.
CMPD says it has taken steps aimed at reducing the use of deadly force, including new de-escalation requirements, complying with the ”8 Can’t Wait” policy platform, and opening a new training facility for practicing de-escalation tactics.
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Police fatally shoot man who was stabbing his ex-wife’s 13-year-old daughter, CMPD says."