Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced Thursday that two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a series of random drive-by shootings this week that left one man dead and two others injured.
The five shootings that occurred The series of incidents, which took place between 1am and 1.30am on Tuesday, appeared to be linked as shots were fired indiscriminately from a vehicle towards other vehicles and cyclists. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Lt. Gov. Tonya Arrington said at a press conference Tuesday.
On Thursday, officers patrolling the scene of the shooting observed a suspicious vehicle and a 16-year-old boy inside the vehicle with a stolen gun.
He was questioned and arrested, and later Thursday an 18-year-old man was also arrested, police said. The other suspects remain at large.
“Honestly, it was just old-fashioned police work. Our officers were in the right place at the right time and they knew what to look for,” Arrington said. “One of those instincts you have sometimes as a police officer.”
Arrington said the young suspect had plans to continue shooting, but did not provide details.
“We have reason to believe that the 16-year-old intended to continue committing violent crimes,” she said. “Thanks to the outstanding work of our officers and detectives, we were able to prevent further harm to an innocent victim.”
Police have not released the identity of the young suspect, who police said will be charged with first-degree murder and transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The 18-year-old suspect has been identified as Carlos Roberto Diaz. Police say he will be charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to murder, five counts of attempted murder, two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle, two counts of shooting into a dwelling and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
It was unclear whether Diaz had an attorney as of Thursday afternoon.
Authorities are still investigating how many guns were used, and police have not said who was driving.
The first shooting happened around 1 a.m., when police said Mustafa Muhammad, 58, was shot and killed in a car traveling north on Statesville Avenue.
Minutes later, police were dispatched to the intersection of LaSalle and Newland streets, where a man riding a bicycle was shot but uninjured, police said.
Officers said a short time later, a vehicle was shot at on LaSalle Street near Interstate 77. A group of people then called police to report a shooting in the 2100 block of Katherine Simmons Drive. Officers found a female victim who was inside a nearby home when the shooting occurred.
The next shooting occurred in the Steele Creek area, when a man on a bicycle was shot. Police said a man was wounded in a shooting in the 100 block of Hillary Circle, and as officers were searching the scene they found a home that had been hit by gunfire.
Arrington said police had used forensic analysis to establish a link between the three shootings and a series of crimes.
She said investigators do not believe the shooting has any gang ties and that a motive remains unclear.
“We still have the same question: Why would two young boys do this to random victims?” she said. “It’s one thing when you have a shooting between two gangs, maybe rival gangs, neighborhood gangs, a feud. But this is … completely unusual.”
