CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police said a woman who is a security guard was shot early Friday morning during an attempted robbery at a home in the Hidden Valley neighborhood of northeast Charlotte.
[PHOTOS: Woman shot in Hidden Valley neighborhood during robbery attempt, police say]
Officers told Channel 9 that she was walking to her patrol car parked along the street to go to work when two men shot her and robbed her.
“Two individuals came up, brandished a firearm, took her weapon, as well as a phone from her,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Lt. Brad Koch.
They stole her phone and her gun before they took off.
Paramedics told Channel 9 they responded to a shooting call around 6.a.m. on Spring Garden Lane near MLK Middle School. The woman was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
“It's disappointing because there's an initiative to rebrand our community in a positive manner,” neighbor John Wall said.
Wall said he’s noticed that police have targeted the crime on neighboring Sugar Creek Road.
However, after Friday’s shooting, Koch said there is still work to do.
“Treating our community members like family members,” Koch said. “You wouldn't want your parents or your siblings to be victimized.”
Police have not made any arrests but set up a perimeter in the area and were searching for the shooter.
“Most of us have been here for a long time, and we try to look out for each other,” neighbor Scott Ramsey said.
Ramsey said he was born and raised in the Hidden Valley neighborhood, which was infamous for gang activity
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Hidden Valley was made infamous by vicious gang activity in the 1990s, but a lot has changed since then.
The neighborhood’s reputation has been improving since police dismantled the gang in 2005.
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Neighbors, like Ramsey, are starting to question if they need more police patrols again.
He said he used to look over his shoulder after growing up there.
“I’m aware of my surroundings,” Ramsey said. “Most people usually don’t take that into consideration but when I stop at a gas station, I’m pretty much watching my surroundings.”
The shooting victim is expected to survive.
Check back with wsoctv.com for any updates to this story.
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