CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NBC Charlotte has uncovered an uptick of crime at popular shopping centers -- from purse snatchings and shootings to car break-ins and assaults.
Many of the crimes remain unsolved, leading police to issue warnings for shoppers all across our area to be extra vigilant.
Among Ballantyne Village, Kenilworth Commons, Cotswold Village and Blakeney Village, 74 thefts and 15 assaults have been reported by police in only two months.
CMPD is still searching for a shoplifter who, while fleeing the Blakeney Harris Teeter in a vehicle, ran over a man and his four-year-old son. Police also still have not found a bold purse snatcher who was caught on camera at Kenilworth Commons.
Two arrests were made this week after a 14-year-old was robbed at knifepoint in the parking lot of the Cotswold Village Harris Teeter.
At Ballantyne village this week, a college student was carjacked at gunpoint. It was the third car stolen in the shopping center since March.
Police said ditch the phone and any other distractions while you’re shopping, park in a well lit area, and try to shop with a buddy when you can.