Year in Review: Reflection on deadly violence in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the city of Charlotte looks ahead to a new year, families, police and neighborhoods hope the deadly violence that unfolded across the city throughout 2015 is in the past.

New Year's Day had not even dawned when Ronald Hoover, 37, was shot and killed off South Tryon Street. It was the first homicide victim in a year that began with this mother's reaction: "I can't do anything but shake my head, and I just wonder when it's going to stop."

By the end of the first week, the homicide total was five and Judy Williams, with Mothers of Murdered Offspring, was holding her first of many candlelight vigils, hoping to stop the violence.

Eleven months later, she could only wonder if anyone was paying attention.

“People should just respect life,” Williams said. “I don’t understand the circles people put themselves in.”

Her feeling was shared by many in Charlotte who watched the steady stream of violence and slayings. Five people were killed, including a 7-year-old boy, on Labor Day weekend.

The pain that Kevin Rodas' mother shared with Channel 9 became the community's pain, as even police were frustrated by the violence.

Police said Rodas' death and three of the others over Labor Day weekend were tied to what they called a gang-like feud between two groups. In 2015, gang violence and drug-driven killings became reality.

Drugs were behind the three deaths at a house in north Charlotte in February, where one of the victims had been a contestant on reality TV show "America's Next Top Model."

Three earlier in December at a home on the south side included two brothers among the dead.

There are other patterns to the violence. Fifty-four of the first 60 involved shootings. Eight were domestically related, which was twice as many as in 2014.

While drugs and gang violence were known factors in some of the cases, 19 of the 60 remain unsolved.

Homicide investigators have been working overtime to crack those cases, and they may have leads in some of them but not enough to make arrests.

“Unfortunately I think we're doing all we can,” Williams said. “When people do hear about stuff and they can stop it, it's happening. But you just can't stop people; you don't know what they're planning.”

As Williams looks to the New Year, she and many others can only hope it will bring an answer to that question from that mother after that very first murder of the year who wondered when the killing was going to stop.

Read our past coverage: