Man shot by officers in east Charlotte was holding fake gun, police say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the man shot by officers last weekend in east Charlotte was holding a fake gun.

The officers involved are on leave, which is standard procedure, while the investigation proceeds.

Felicia Morgan, who said her son is “mentally ill,” said he is in stable condition, but is expected to go through several surgeries.

Morgan showed Channel 9 the bullet holes in Bobby Morgan’s window in his one-bedroom home off Winfield Drive.

Officers shot Bobby Morgan when they said he posed an imminent, deadly threat, beginning when he called police to tell them his neighbors were bothering him.

He then told the dispatcher he was armed.

"I have a gun on me, and I'm legal to carry,” Morgan said to dispatchers. “I will not hit a female, but I will do something else to protect myself."

Felicia Morgan said her son has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses and does not own a real gun. She said she also called 911 that morning.

"I need you to give a message to the police officers at the address. He has mental issues,” Felicia Morgan said to dispatchers.

Police said that when officers responded, they heard gunshots coming from inside Bobby Morgan's home.

At one point, police say he showed this gun from a window.

On Wednesday, police revealed it wasn’t a real gun.

It looks, fires and sounds real, but it only shoots blanks.

Police said Bobby Morgan refused to drop the gun, even after they told him to several times, prompting officers to fire.

CMPD said four officers who were dispatched to this call, including one of the officers directly involved with the shooting, are trained in crisis intervention, meaning they are specially trained to interact with people who have mental illness.

Police said officers have responded to Bobby Morgan’s address 17 times this year.

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