CMPD asks public for information in connection with shooting death of 4-year-old boy

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said at a news conference Friday afternoon that as the investigation continues, detectives are asking the public for more information about a shooting in a northwest Charlotte neighborhood that claimed the life of 4-year-old Caleb Flax.

The shooting happened in the early morning hours of Sept. 20.

Seven gunmen traveling in two stolen cars fired over 84 shots into four homes in 60 seconds on Grassy Patch Lane in northwest Charlotte, investigators said.

One of those shots killed Caleb, and another wounded a neighbor in the leg, police said. The shooting was retaliation for an earlier shooting that happened on Silver Birch Drive.

So far, police have arrested five people, including four teens.

One of the suspects, Mallard Creek High School junior Ian Garland, was the intended target in the first shooting, police said.

>>GoFundMe for Caleb.

CMPD Chief Estella Patterson said the tragedy didn’t just pierce the walls of a home, it pierced the hearts of the community.

“It was violent,” the chief said, flanked by dozens of the actual shell casings and evidence markers that were displayed for the news conference. “It was irresponsible and unacceptable, and we cannot accept these kinds of actions as normal in our community. I cannot begin to tell you how angry I was when I learned of the incident, and it should make everybody else in this community equally angry.”

Investigators believe there could be more people involved, so they are asking if you know anything about this incident to give them a call.

Investigators also detailed a timeline of what transpired so far in the case.

“We believe that there are additional individuals, additional information, and additional evidence that potentially will bring us the ability to fully understand why this heinous incident occurred, and bring the remaining suspects to justice,” said CMPD Dep. Chief Ryan Butler.

Community activist Charles Robinson said he wants the teen suspects to be held accountable.

“Until you hold folks accountable, nothing is going to change,” Robinson said. “We are going to be here again.”

‘I have PTSD’

Reuben Flax, Caleb’s great-great-grandfather, remembered the young boy and recalled their final conversation.

“Caleb was a joy, no doubt about it, everybody in the neighborhood knew him,” Flax said. “I had just spoken to Caleb the night before, and we talked because I was one of his excuses not to go to bed.”

Flax, a retired Marine and three-time Purple Heart recipient, commended the law enforcement response while calling for maximum penalties. “I’m very happy that CMPD investigators have worked so hard, so quickly and so efficiently, and I got nothing but praise for those investigators,” Flax said.

Flax joined the Marine Corps at age 17, which is the same age as most of the suspects in the case. “Anybody that would do something like that, take a child’s life or anybody’s life under such circumstances, I have no sympathy for them at all, none,” Flax added.

Residents living on Grassy Patch Lane described the shock of the shooting and its traumatic impact.

A resident on the street recalled hearing the gunfire and witnessing the immediate aftermath. “I honestly feel like I have PTSD; I remember hearing the gunshots,” the resident said. “I open the front door, I hear my neighbor screaming, I go check, I see the baby being brought out.”

Community members expressed lingering fear despite the recent arrests. The Grassy Patch Lane resident explained that while the arrests brought relief, anxiety remains high.

“The fact that some have been arrested, it brings some ease, but for this to happen randomly out of the blue it still makes me very nervous,” the resident said.

Another neighbor in the affected area added that everyday sounds now trigger panic. “If my kids are too loud, make a loud noise, or anything, I get scared. I almost think it’s a gunshot,” the neighbor said.

Timeline

That first shooting that prompted this deadly attack happened on Sept. 19.

Hours before the teens met at an Airbnb party in west Charlotte, surveillance video captured seven people shooting into Caleb’s home at 2:55 the next morning.

The next day, police found the stolen car used in the shooting.

Two days later, they made the first arrest in a series of arrests.

On Friday, police said they’re looking for more suspects.

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