City Preparing To Unveil “Cure Violence” Program Following Violent Week

CHARLOTTE, NC – It has been a violent week along a small stretch of road in northwest Charlotte.

On Sunday there were two shootings on Hovis Road. Police say one was a targeted attack. A man was shot multiple times. On Tuesday a seven-year-old girl was caught in crossfire when two groups shot at one another.  Also on Tuesday, two teenagers were shot in a drive-by on Hovis Road.

And on Wednesday night, a person was shot on Hovis Road, police saying this shooting was not connected to the others.

“Anytime you have gun violence and you get children involved, obviously its very concerning. Very disappointing. Very Frustrating,” said Charlotte City councilman Malcolm Graham.

He represents the Hovis Road area. He says he spoke with the police chief for over an hour on Thursday.

“Hopefully we can get more eyes and ears and feet on the ground working in neighborhoods and communities trying to identify problems before they occur,” said Graham.

Graham says the city is readying to implement a violence interruption plan called “Cure Violence”  the initiative has been in the works for months. It’s currently in use in cities like Atlanta and Chicago.

“So that we can interrupt these arguments, these disagreements before they occur and lead to gunfire,” explained Graham.

So far this year, police have been called to the area around Hovis Road more than 170 times, mostly for assaults, thefts, and vandalism.

“All i know is this violence has to stop,” said Lucille Puckett with Take Back Our Hoods.

She says she spoke with the injured seven-year-old on Thursday.

“She said I may be shot. I may have gotten shot. But I’m still alive. She wants people to know that Ziana is Brave,” said Puckett.

Puckett says the city isn’t moving fast enough on the gun violence issue and should be supporting grassroots efforts.

“When we’re worrying about a person having a 501c3, bureaucracy, the red tape, the paper work, and we’re steady losing lives everyday. Our young people are dying in the street everyday,” said Puckett.

All of the shooting victims are expected to survive. So far three people have been arrested in the shootings.