Police: 3 teens shot in east Charlotte; gunman on loose

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police are searching for the person responsible for Thursday's shooting at the Hampton Commons apartment complex off Milton Road in East Charlotte.

The shooting has left the neighborhood wondering who would target a group of teens.

Channel 9 was there as investigators carried bags of what could be evidence from an apartment Thursday night.

Police said all three victims were students in their late teens.

The investigation started a little after 3 p.m., about an hour after school let out at Cochrane Collegiate Academy a mile away.

Javon Gravely, 16, said he heard gunshots as he was coming off the bus from school.

"My first instinct was run to the house, and then I just saw a whole bunch of people running," said Gravely.

SLIDESHOW: Scene of triple shooting

Witnesses said they also heard gunshots and then saw a crowd of teenagers scatter.

"I just heard the bullets," said Marshall Burley. "Everybody was coming out of everywhere, but I just stayed in the house."

Officers were not able to confirm which school the victims attend.

Two teens were on the ground when police arrived. Another teenager was taken to the hospital by a friend.

Police couldn't say what happened before the shooting, only that it was intentional.

"It does not appear to be a random act of violence," said Capt. Rob Dance. "There may have been some kind of altercation before the shooting that occurred at an earlier date."

Investigators could not be specific on what the fight was about.

The victims are expected to recover.

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