CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After a 3-year-old was shot and killed during a string of drive-by shootings in northwest Charlotte Tuesday, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles spoke alongside police investigators.
The mayor, who had taken some criticism online earlier Tuesday morning for her lack of comment on the recent violent crimes, spoke during a virtual news conference around 12:30 p.m.
Following some audio disruptions, here's what the mayor had to say:
"As mayor of the city, as we the recognize our city council and all the efforts that we've put into making sure that this community could have something in the future that we could be proud of that everyone was valued. We need your help. Because I know we can't do it alone anymore. These incidents that are taking place that result in the loss of the three-year-old. It is because someone's not willing to tell us how to do better. How to stop it. So today, we're going to talk a lot about it. But without your support and help, without someone being willing to be brave enough to say, 'This is not the city that I want to live in. That I can make a difference by helping people live together; preventing the loss of life that we have had over the several days in the past.' I implore you, every member, every elected official in this county, not just Charlotte, but all of our towns, our school board, our county commissioners, we asked - we beg actually - that you step up as a community and help us. Help us make sure that these losses do not continue to occur. For us to have a safer charlotte."
Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or by visiting their website.