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Witness: Man threatened children with gun before kidnapping girlfriend

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police told Channel 9 they have found a woman they said was kidnapped overnight in north Charlotte, and officers told Channel 9 that the man they believe took her is also accused of firing shots into a home.

Investigators said that around 2:30 a.m. a woman and her boyfriend got into an argument and that the woman left and headed to a family friend’s house on Thera Drive.

A short time later, police said the man came to the house and kidnapped her, firing nearly a dozen shots at the home as he left.

At least one bullet hit the house but police said nobody inside was hurt. Counselors were called to the scene because four children were in the home at the time of the shooting.

Police said the suspect also robbed the homeowner, Juandricuze Chambers.

Channel 9 spoke with Chambers, who said he and the suspect have known each other for a long time.

Chambers told Eyewitness News that after an argument between the suspect and his girlfriend, that woman came to his house for a safe place to stay.

When the woman’s boyfriend showed up at the house looking for her, Chambers said the man kicked in the front door and pistol-whipped him three times.

Chambers then said that the suspect went room to room looking for his girlfriend, who was hiding, and that when he entered Chambers' 5-year-old daughter’s bedroom, he held a gun to her head and threatened that someone was going to die.

Chambers told Channel 9 that when the suspect went upstairs into another bedroom, Chambers threw himself on top of his son, who was still in bed, to shield him.

When the gunman found his girlfriend hiding in a closest, he started beating her, according to Chambers. That’s when he ran for help and told neighbors to call 911.

"I'm glad she was found safe because he could've killed her," Chambers told Channel 9. "I thought she was dead."

None of the children were hurt but they were left shaken up.

Detectives said that around 4 a.m. they found what they believe to be the suspect’s car on East Todd Lane in west Charlotte.

Channel 9 saw police escorting the victim in a blanket from that scene, and officers told Eyewitness News that she was safe.

"I'm glad she was found safe because he could've killed her, I thought she was dead," Chambers said.

Police said they do not have the suspect in custody and have not released a description.

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