CHARLOTTE (AP) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say the public has nothing to fear from a spate of five slayings in one week, blaming the deaths on what they called risky lifestyles.
The Charlotte Observer reports that investigators think at least three of the killings since Thursday were related to the drug trade.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Kerr Putney told a news conference Tuesday that the other killings were likely the result of disputes between acquaintances prone to violence.
Putney said the deaths brought Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s homicide total in 2013 to 35, three more than at the same time last year at this time. The 52 homicides last year were the fewest for Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in 24 years, and the city was trending even lower until the recent streak of violence.