CMPD Chief Putney tells shooter of two boys to “Man Up”

CHARLOTTE, NC– “Nothing worse can happen to a family during this holiday season to something as senseless as this,” said CMPD Chief Kerry Putney.

Chief Kerr Putney challenged the community to come forward if they know something and track down a shooter.

“He needs to man up, he needs to own what he’s done and the consequences thereof,” said Putney.

Putney stood beside pictures of the nine and 11-year-old boys recovering in the hospital after one was shot in the arm, the other in the hip while inside their West Charlotte Little Rock Apartments home.

Police say the shooter shot into a window while outside on foot and then took off, leaving these boys bleeding and rushed to the hospital.

“You need to know as a community that this family needs your help, this a very good family, this is a strong family,” said Putney.

Putney says they can’t confirm the apartment was targeted but says these incidents are rarely random.

“There’s more to the story there always is, we just don’t know exactly what that is at this point,” said Putney.

Chief Putney says officers have made sure the boys are taken care of for Christmas after finding out they were on the CMPD Explorers gift list for families needing help. Both the boys need surgery, but Chief Putney says it’s not the physical wounds that will be hardest to heal for these two boys.

“I know physically they’re going to recover but the emotional trauma will last a lifetime,” said Putney.