‘It’s gotten worse’: What uptown residents say about latest shooting in their neighborhood

An argument near Romare Bearden Park on Saturday resulted in three people shot and a stray bullet going through an uptown 7-Eleven window where workers were inside, according to CMPD reports.

No one was killed.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged a teen in the shooting, which happened about 10:46 p.m. at 255 W. Martin Luther King Blvd.

Five people were listed as victims in a police report. Two women, ages 49 and 22, were hospitalized, the report said. Three men, 42, 43, and 24 were also listed as victims.

On Tuesday, the store window remained boarded up, and a CMPD car sat outside.

Kristiana Lazarevic, who has been living in the area for about three years, was home when the shooting occurred, but said she didn’t hear or see anything. By the time she noticed what happened, the police were outside, she said.

“I don’t know if it’s because of the bars or what attracts people to this area … but I’ve noticed that in this area, it’s gotten worse in recent months,” she said.

Teenagers and their parents were charged in a July Fourth brawl in 2023 in that area of uptown, and five people were shot and wounded at Romare Bearden Park on New Year’s Eve, prompting concerns from business owners and more focus on uptown safety from police and city leaders.

Lazarevic said she likes her uptown apartment and has no plans to move, but would if things became too unsafe.

Hadiyah Omar, who moved into an apartment near Romare Bearden Park a year ago, said she’s thinking about moving after her lease ends.

She wasn’t home when the shooting occurred, she said, and she wasn’t aware of it until Tuesday, but said it was “unnecessary.” She doesn’t feel unsafe, she said, but it is one of the reasons — the other being vagrancy just outside of her apartment — she’s thinking about moving somewhere else in the city.

Maurice Worthy, who heard about the shooting the day after when he saw the damaged window at the 7-Eleven, said it was surprising. He said he’s never felt unsafe uptown.

“There’s a lot of chaos going on in the world,” Worthy said. “And everyone just needs to calm down.”