Putney: Gangs at the center of Charlotte weekend violence

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said retaliatory shootings between at least two gangs were at the root of many of the violent crimes over the Labor Day weekend.

Police are treating all of the shootings as if they are connected. Putney wouldn’t identify the gangs involved and gave no updates on any possible arrests in any of the five killings over the weekend.

Twelve people were shot at six locations over the holiday weekend. So far in Mecklenburg County, there have been 43 homicides in 2015, more than for all of the year before.

He said the shooting of 7-year-old Kevin Calderon Rodas was likely the result of mistaken identity. The family had moved in a week before the Saturday shooting.

Putney urged residents with information to come forward and said rewards for Crime Stoppers tips have been doubled.

Police stepped up patrols around the city after the spike in violence.

The department called in officers from their regular days off and from vacation to step up patrols in all divisions. Officers in special units such as gangs and firearms were also brought in.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg has joined other areas around the country in reporting a sharp rise in homicides in 2015.

Last year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigated 42 homicides, the lowest total since police began keeping track of uniform crime statistics in 1977. More than 30 cities have also reported increases in violence from a year ago, the New York Times reported last week.