3 dead after police respond to ‘active shooter’ situation at Huntersville house

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Police have identified the three people who were found dead after officers were called to a house in a Huntersville neighborhood for an “active shooter” situation early Friday morning.

This all started just before 6 a.m. in the Vermillion neighborhood on ES Draper Drive, which is in a development off Huntersville-Concord Road and Old Statesville Road.

Police said they were called to the house for reports of an assault with a deadly weapon. When they first got to the house, they were not able to enter but the SWAT team was standing by.

Once authorities got into the house, they found Joseph Cooper, 44, Julie Cooper, 24 and Joseph Cooper Jr., 24. They were all pronounced dead at the scene.

Channel 9 could see several police officers on scene wearing tactical gear as well as multiple MEDIC crews. We could also see Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers on scene and could hear other officers speaking loudly into a bullhorn in what looked like they were trying to get the shooter to come out of the home.

Officers encouraged residents to stay inside their homes and shelter in place, but officials said there is now no longer an active threat to the community.

Huntersville police have not said if there was any relationship between the three victims. Authorities have not said what led up to the shooting, but did say that they are not looking for any suspects.

Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura spoke with several neighbors, who said police started knocking on their doors to get out and find a safe area around 5:30 a.m. Officers said they started evacuating nearby homes around 6 a.m. out of caution.

“I looked out my backyard and saw a police helicopter flying around,” resident Mike Burger said. “I was a little bit worried about going outside and I didn’t do anything until I saw my neighbors.”

“I noticed police had blocked our road and I didn’t know what had went on so we went out, walked around and talked to some neighbors and kind of found out that way,” neighbor Angela Moore said.

Parents who spoke with our crews said there is a lot of confusion about what is going on in the neighborhood and concern about how they are going to get their children to school.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said they are going to assess the situation and reroute school buses as needed in order to avoid the police investigation.

Residents said the neighborhood is very tight-knit and everyone knows everyone so the news is devastating.

This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.

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