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CMPD: 4 teens charged after man shot to death while sitting in car

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Overnight, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested four people in connection with the shooting death of a man this weekend in east Charlotte.

[Teenager shot, killed in east Charlotte; suspects in custody after brief standoff]

[IMAGES: Homicide investigation on Perth Court]

Primitivo Carreto, 19, and Chadwick Pearson, 18, are charged with murder, conspiracy and robbery.

Police also arrested and charged two 15-year-old boys.

Detectives told Channel 9 the suspects shot into a car on Perth Court Saturday afternoon, killing 19-year-old Gavino Romero.

The shooting led to a SWAT standoff on nearby Lanecrest Drive, which ended peacefully, officials said.

Investigators said they still don't know why the car Romero was in was targeted.

“(Those) kids just need help,” former gang member Garcia Nelson said. “They need to get on the right path. They need to learn."

Nelson lived a violent lifestyle as a young gang member in the 1990s. Now, he's part of a team at the Genesis Project trying to stem the latest wave of teen violence that has been responsible for at least three homicides in the last month.

They use a mix of tough love and compassion to reach teenagers headed down that same road.

“Let's find out what's going on in their homes, because there's a reason behind every person's choice to do that crime,” Nelson said.

Sylvia Grier leads a nonprofit called The Council of Elders, which offers counseling and mental health evaluation for teenagers on the edge.

“These teenagers are going through traumas and stresses that are not being addressed,” Grier said.