Man Charged with Shooting Child in West Charlotte with Paintball Gun
CHARLOTTE, NC –Β There’s growing concern over an increase in paintball attacks in Charlotte.
Police say they’ve gotten more than 160 calls about people firing paintball guns since January. That’s led to 55 police reports and 10 arrests.
Investigators say the suspects are firing at cars, homes, and innocent people. One of the latest victims is a two-year-old girl.
17-year-old Keon Broughton is charged with assault on a child, resisting public officer, and disorderly conduct.
He is accused of shooting the two-year-old girl with a paintball gun at a home on Columbus Circle in West Charlotte last week.
Investigators say it happened while he was engaged in a paintball fight with several other people.
“You’ve got people that are shooting at cars. You’ve got people shooting at kids at bus stops. I heard a report in North Charlotte the other day of somebody shooting at a dog. I mean, come on? Really?” says Rob Tufano, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
According to police, the little girl was hit in the back but was not hurt. The home did have some window damage.
Police say if it keeps up, someone’s going to get seriously hurt. They also say it’s only a matter of time before someone mistakes a paintball gun for a real gun.
