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Man arrested after woman found shot to death inside car in east Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Police have arrested and charged a man after a woman was shot and killed in east Charlotte last Thursday morning.

Tommy Carter, 34, has been charged with murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied property.

Officers were originally called around 4 a.m. to reports of shots fired on Denson Place at Tipperary Place, off of Eastway Drive near The Plaza. Paramedics said one person was killed and another was seriously injured.

Minutes later, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they were investigating the death as a homicide.

Police told Channel 9 that when they arrived they found 32-year-old Beatrice Serrano inside a car. She had been shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers also found Carter and a witness who were fighting in a yard nearby. Police were able to take Carter into custody and he was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The witness was interviewed by detectives.

Once Carter was released from the hospital, he was interviewed by detectives and charged.

Police said that Serrano and Carter had been in a previous relationship.

This marked Charlotte’s 85th homicide of 2020 and comes just hours after police were called to investigate the shooting death of a 5-year-old girl in the Hidden Valley neighborhood.

The group Safe Alliance helps local people who are victims of domestic violence and said it continues to see an increase in domestic violence-related calls during the pandemic. They’re working around the clock to provide resources that are already stretched thin because of COVID-19.

“No victim deserves what they are experiencing,” said Carmen Crape with Safe Alliance.

Crape said from March to August, they have seen a 29% increase in domestic violence-related calls. While they started to see the spike at the beginning of the pandemic, she said calls are now longer and more involved.

“It’s an increase across the board because domestic violence impacts all types of people,” she said. “We have parents reaching out. They are also trying to navigate the virtual school situation as well while navigating their support systems changing and being different with restrictions for COVID.”

Police have also said they are responding to more domestic violence calls since the pandemic started, but Safe Alliance is around for those who need help.

Safe Alliance in Charlotte has a 24/7 hotline specifically for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The number is 980-771-HOPE.