News

Homeowner says bullet from short-term rental party went through bedroom window

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A shooting at a short-term rental house party sent bullets flying through a Charlotte neighborhood on Nov. 3 on Summit Avenue in Wesley Heights.

The property where the party was held was cross-listed on several platforms, including Airbnb.

One bullet flew into a neighbor's bedroom. The homeowner said someone could have died from those bullets, and she said it makes homeowners in the area feel helpless.

Now, Airbnb said it's doing two things to help residents starting next month.

"It was terrifying. It sounded like it was in my bedroom window," said Jane, who asked us not to use her real name.

Jane said she heard 10 gunshots, one of them ripping through a bedroom window.

"It's traumatizing. I was traumatized," she said.

She said there was a party at the rental, which is feet from her bedroom window.

She said it was a group of young teenagers.

"One of the young men hit me in the face when I tried to take a picture of the license plate," she said.

She filed a police report of the assault.

She said most of the time, renters at the Airbnb are fine.

Jane contacted the owner, who said he has a strict age requirement. No one is allowed in his home who is younger than 25 years old. He banned the user who booked the rental.

The owner told her a woman had booked it, then said she couldn't make it so her cousins would be there instead.

Jane said she contacted Airbnb but got an automated response.

She said it left her feeling helpless.

She said she's not against Airbnb but she wants more security.

"There is no way to handle, right now, what happens when something goes seriously wrong," she said.

We reached out to Airbnb, which recently banned parties.

In addition to that, the company told Channel 9 that on Dec. 31, it will launch a 24/7 neighbor hotline so anyone can call with their concerns.

The company will also expand screening of high-risk reservations starting Dec. 15 regarding unauthorized house parties.

"I will carry this with me for some years because I don't feel safe in my home," said Jane.

Police said the shooting investigation remains ongoing and no arrests have been made.

>> Reading this story in our app? The new "Follow the Lead" feature allows you to tap the blue tag indicated with a '+' to subscribe to alerts on the very latest breaking news updates.