ALE pulls uptown Sheraton's alcohol permit following shooting

CHARLOTTE — North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement have pulled the alcohol permit for an uptown hotel just days after two people were shot there during an after-party following the CIAA tournament.

Officials pulled the Sheraton's permit late Monday.

It is unclear if the shooting from over the weekend is the only reason why the Sheraton cannot serve alcohol anymore.

There is no word yet on how long the permit will be revoked.

Police still searching for hotel shooter, reviewing security procedures

Police in Charlotte are still looking for a gunman who opened fire inside a crowded uptown hotel early Sunday morning.  Shots rang out around 2 a.m. Sunday at the Sheraton Hotel on South McDowell Street.

Investigators believe an argument turned violent during an after party at the end of the CIAA basketball tournament.

Inell Beatty says her daughter was inside. "She got out just in time, because it was like a stampede in there," Beatty said.

Cellphone video obtained by Eyewitness News shows people running and stumbling in order to get out of several large ballrooms where the party was taking place. It was put on by an Atlanta promoter who used the names of rap artists, including mogul "Diddy," in advertisements.

Charlotte Mecklenburg police say both on-duty and off-duty officers were at the party for security reasons.  However, police say only private security officers hired by the hotel or promoter were legally allowed to search those who came to the party for weapons.  Many of those who attended the party say they were not searched at all.

The shooting came at the very end of an otherwise successful week for the CIAA tournament, which on Monday announced it plans to stay in Charlotte for another six years.  League Commissioner Jacqie Carpenter says the party where the shooting took place was not an officially sanctioned CIAA event.  "It's something that happened in the footprint of the CIAA but it's not our event," Carpenter said.

Police say they're still looking for information from anyone who may have seen the shooting take place.

WSOC