Suspect in uptown shooting arrested as he tried to board a CATS bus, police say

The suspect who fired a gun into a vehicle in uptown Charlotte on Tuesday tried boarding a bus with the weapon before being arrested, police said.

At 11:15 a.m., several Charlotte-Mecklenburg police bike and foot patrol officers were at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets when they heard gunshots. The officers saw Christopher William Brown, 20, shooting into a vehicle that was speeding away from the scene, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Suspect in custody after shooting into a car in uptown Charlotte, police say

The suspect ran away from officers down Trade into the Charlotte Transportation Center, police said. CMPD and transit police officers arrested Brown as he tried getting into a CATS bus.

Officers recovered a FN Herstal Five Seven handgun, valued at $1,300, and a magazine with three rounds of ammunition in his possession, CMPD said.

Brown is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, discharge a firearm in the city limits, and resist/delay/obstruct of a law enforcement officer. He is being held at Mecklenburg County Jail.

Detectives on Wednesday also identified 21-year-old Marqueze Kawane Crump of Albemarle as the victim in the shooting. However, they haven’t been able to get into contact with him yet.

This was not a random act of violence as Crump and Brown are known to each other, police said.

Since 2017, police have investigated more than 3,200 cases of people firing guns into occupied buildings or vehicles, the Observer previously reported. That’s nearly two per day. Fourteen people have died from these assaults so far this year.

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Anyone with information about the shooting can leave information anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com/.