CHARLOTTE — Someone was shot and killed during the busy lunch rush in the middle of Uptown Charlotte Thursday.
Video obtained by Channel 9 shows people running from the scene on Brevard Court, outside the Latta Arcade. Over a dozen Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers quickly descended on the heart of Uptown, across from Romare Bearden Park.
#BREAKING: CMPD is investigating a homicide. It happened in the alley of Brevard Ct. just outside Latta Arcade.
A man who was working in that construction equipment says he heard at least 5 shots and everyone ran. He says he saw someone being arrested. Police briefing soon pic.twitter.com/3dHxFvnuT1
— Hunter Sáenz (@Hunt_Saenz) September 18, 2025
Chopper 9 Skyzoom got to the scene at about 1:45 p.m. Crime scene tape cordoned off Brevard Court, the alley where there are shops, restaurants and bars. Police also had parts of Uptown roads blocked off.
A witness said he heard about five gunshots.
“It was a lot of chaos,” said Anthony Martinez, who was working with an excavator just outside of the alley when he heard the gunfire. “I ain’t going to lie to you, we just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. Everybody just turned, took off running. It was scary in the moment.”
Martinez said he hid in a nearby hotel until police arrived.
“Kind of a shocking incident that happened,” said Maj. Gene Lim with CMPD.
CMPD says they’re still determining what led up to the shooting, but they’re not looking for any suspects. Witnesses told Channel 9 they saw a person taken away in handcuffs.
Investigators noted this kind of crime here in broad daylight is rare.
“It just happened out of nowhere,” Martinez said.
Video shows quick shooting
Gus Stamoulis, the owner of Nefelie’s Bar, told Channel 9’s Glenn Counts that the victim was a regular customer.
Stamoulis has owned the bar for 15 years, but he opened late Thursday after the deadly shooting. Normally, the restaurants and bars in Brevard Court are full, but it was turned into a crime scene Thursday afternoon.
We obtained video that shows the victim run out into the alley before the gunman points a handgun at him and shoots.
“Nobody needs to shoot anybody, that was so unnecessary. It never needed to happen,” said a woman who works in the area.
The shooting happened right in front of her.
“I was scared, so it was kind of like a haze. So I saw him on the ground, I saw like the powder from the gun … like the smoke from the gun and everything,” she said.
Stamoulis says the killing doesn’t surprise him. He says he could see conditions getting worse.
“Lately, I’ve seen a lot of activity with people like that coming through here, people on drugs, and stuff like that,” Stamoulis said.
He told Counts he’s reached out to CMPD, but he’s frustrated because he says they didn’t take any action.
“Now they’re gonna do something about it. It’s gonna be more secure over here, but our name is already out there. Somebody got shot here, so now business is going to be down,” Stamoulis said. “We’re going to have the security we asked for, but why did they have to wait?”
We’re asking for more information about the person who witnesses say police took into custody.
Uptown shootings over the summer
This is now one of several shootings in Uptown in just the last couple of months. Many who spoke to Channel 9’s Hunter Sáenz said something has to change.
In July alone, 15 people were shot in at least six shootings across Uptown. Some of those shootings turned deadly.
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The city passed a special tax increase to help businesses hire security, which just recently went into effect.
CMPD says it has taken a number of steps to improve security in the area, including boosting officer visibility and hiring private security to patrol Romare Bearden Park.
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