The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shed light on crime in our region in 2024.
According to police, 110 murders took place in the city. That’s an increase from 2023, when only 95 people died.
Channel 9’s Glenn Counts spoke with a family who lost a loved one to gun violence as the year came to a close.
They said they wanted the new year to bring new security measures after more than five murders occurred in the space of 48 hours.
By any standards, 2024 was a deadly year in Charlotte, starting with the brutal murder of 54-year-old group home worker Ganiyu Ibrahim and ending with the senseless shooting of 31-year-old Cameron Lackey.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man charged with murder after shooting in eastern Mecklenburg County
“There’s definitely a hole in my chest, a hole in my heart that will be forever marked,” said Lackey’s wife, Yaneli Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said the couple had three children and was pregnant with a fourth.
“He took my husband away from me. Not just the husband, the father of my children,” Rodriguez said.
Lackey was shot and killed near Old Camden Road in the Hickory Grove Division. Eighteen-year-old Michael William McAllister was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the case.
“Something definitely needs to change. We definitely have to do something about it. There are too many teens who just don’t face consequences,” Rodriguez said.
Court records show McAllister is being held in jail without bond. He was given a court-appointed attorney and another hearing is scheduled for later this month.
A GoFundMe for Lackey has been set up here.
VIDEO: Man charged with murder after shooting in eastern Mecklenburg County
