Officer Involved Shooting Closes Wilkinson Blvd for Hours

CHARLOTTE, NC — “It impacted us greatly. Everybody was looking to come in today. We had a lot of calls, people wondering if we were open if they could get to us,” said Blackstone Range General Manager Guy Santiago.

Businesses up and down Wilkinson Boulevard from the exit off 277 past Morehead had to sit and wait all day while police had the road taped off.

“We were impacted extremely. All the traffic was diverted, so we lost 80 percent of our clientele that comes in on Fridays,” said Dirty South Customs Owners Hisham Bewan.

It started around 10:30 Friday morning when CMPD says an officer stopped a car matching a suspect in several home invasions. Darryll Clay tried to run, so the officer used her taser, which didn’t work. Then shots were fired.

“There was an exchange of gunfire. We know our officer fired at least one shot, and according to accounts at this time, the suspect fired at least one shot,” said CMPD Chief Kerr Putney.

Chief Kerr Putney says Clay continued his crime spree.

“As he was running across the street with his weapon drawn, he attempted to carjack at least a couple cars, at least two vehicles during the course of this chase,” said Chief Putney.

Police set up a perimeter and caught Clay, who wasn’t hurt. The officer was injured in the hand, but the investigators kept the road closed for about 5 hours.

“I’d be lying if I wasn’t surprised it took quite a bit of time,” said Santiago.

Those five hours kept customers away. Some trickled in once the road reopened, but others will have to come back another day. It’s a major inconvenience.

“We rescheduled people and gave them discounts and did all we could do,” said Bewan.

CMPD tells us investigators kept the road closed as long as they did because whenever an officer fires their weapon, there is a criminal and internal investigation into the incident.

Officer Michelle Brcik was treated for a hand injury. Clay was taken to the hospital for an illness unrelated to this incident. Upon his release, he will be charged in this incident.