704 Unfiltered

According to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton was killed by the owner of a Shell station on Parklane Road, Rick Chow, who is now charged with murder. 

Sheriff Leon Lott held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, saying anyone involved in vandalizing the gas station will be arrested and charged accordingly.

On Tuesday, Chow stood in front of a magistrate judge during a first court appearance.

No recorded audio was allowed in the courtroom during the hearing at the Richland County jail, which lasted less than 10 minutes. Chow and his attorney had no comment. Carmack-Belton's family was in the courtroom along with a victim advocate and representative from the family’s attorney’s office.

The family also chose not to comment, but members of the community who live near the gas station are speaking up.

"I’m just heartbroken with the situation," Columbia resident Laroy Hall says. "I really and truly am. This is devastating."

Hall lives near the gas station where Carmack-Belton was shot.

Overnight law enforcement said the station was vandalized by protestors.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/gas-station-vandalized-deputies-say-owner-shot-killed-14-year-old-boy/101-5292f64a-5b54-418c-85bc-956cae81ddf8

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were released Sunday in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation's debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.

The Democratic president and Republican speaker are trying to win over lawmakers to the plan in time to avert a default that would shake the global economy. But Congress will be scrutinizing and debating the legislation, which also includes provisions to fund medical care for veterans, change work requirements for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for energy projects.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/debt-ceiling-deal-whats-in-it/507-ffa815cc-5dea-4294-af41-d1c8e9a721ec

The Union County Sheriff's Office said three more suspects were arrested and are facing charges for an alleged "senior prank" at Sun Valley High School that caused thousands of dollars in damage.

Cameron Pope, 18, Jacob Garay, 18, and Mark Aponte, 19, were taken into custody and will face multiple charges including a felony charge of damaging computers and a misdemeanor charge of injury to personal property. Their bonds were set at $5,000.

They join two other suspects, 21-year-old Javier Sheffield and 18-year-old Nalen Geoffery who were arrested last week. They're all accused of damaging the high school's computer equipment and electrical panels.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/destructive-union-county-senior-prank-arrests/275-81c1b524-8625-428f-9575-37996254975e

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!

A dozen students are facing criminal charges after a senior prank at a high school after officials say they vandalized the campus.

The incident happened at North Lincoln High School in the late evening hours of Monday, May 22, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say 12 students entered the school and ransacked multiple classrooms and painted vulgarities on walls.

Lincoln County Schools officials told all students that they would not be allowed to enter the school during any "senior prank" event, according to the sheriff's office.

School authorities told students that criminal activity would not be allowed to pass as a prank.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/12-students-charged-after-senior-prank-at-lincoln-county-high-school-lincolnton-north-carolina-north-lincoln-high-school-prank/275-09e8b1e1-6d1f-48e4-8cb4-617c5abb6570

Surveillance video released Friday by the Charlotte Area Transit System shows the May 18 shooting aboard a CATS bus between the driver and a passenger.

The shooting occurred after the passenger, Omarri Tobias, asked the driver to make an unscheduled stop as the bus traveled through Charlotte's Steele Creek neighborhood. When the driver, identified as David Fullard, refused, Tobias can be heard taunting Fullard, who continues to drive.

In the video, Tobias can be seen pulling a gun. Moments later, Fullard pulls out his own gun. Gunfire is exchanged as the bus drives off the roadway.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/charlotte-transit-bus-shooting-surveillance-video/275-48841166-34d4-4ba1-b5a1-514de00bb869

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

A Charlotte neighborhood is shaken up after a shoot-out Monday night led to several stray bullets hitting occupied homes. 

A police report says a home invasion on Statesville Avenue just north of Uptown lead to several shots fired Monday night. Neighbors told WCNC Charlotte it’s a miracle no one was hurt but they fear shootings are becoming too common in the Queen City.  

Homeowner Tiffany Schreiber told WCNC Charlotte she was watching a movie Monday night with her fiancé when they heard several shots fired outside their house.

“Then, one of the bullets came through our window like right above where we were sitting and so then [my fiancé] was just like, 'Get down on the ground,'” Schreiber recalled.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/shoot-out-near-camp-north-end-damages-homes-charlotte/275-0d78c968-927d-404d-9f89-69d4a10be3b0

Mayor Vi Lyles, City Councilmember Tariq Bokhari, and members of the SouthPark community will mark one week since the deadly SouthPark fire by honoring the victims and thanking first responders.

During this week's SouthPark After Five concert, community leaders will lead a moment of silence in memory of Demonte Sherrill and Rueben Holmes, who tragically died in the fire.

They will also acknowledge first responders from the Charlotte Fire Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and MEDIC. The recognition will spotlight the first 30 firefighters on the initial call, including: Stations 2, 12, 14, and 16; Rescue 10; Battalion Chiefs 1 and 5; and Deputy Chief Samuel Jones.

A 14-year-old has died after drowning at Pine Island Country Club Monday night, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reports. 

According to police, the incident happened at Stoneyridge Drive at the Pine Island Country Club. The teen was transported to Atrium Health-Main but was later pronounced dead. The Charlotte Fire Department reported Monday night that the teen was pulled from a pond at the golf course. 

Officials have not released the name of the teen at this time. Stay with WCNC Charlotte for the very latest on this developing story.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/charlotte-police-drowning-teen-pine-island-country-club/275-0f1d8233-7384-4ef3-8e6b-62a75d823181

The South Carolina Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy -- before most people know they are pregnant – and sent it to the governor who has promised to sign it.

The proposal restores a ban South Carolina had in place when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year — a ban that, once it took effect, was overturned by the state’s highest court because it violated the state Constitution’s right to privacy.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/south-carolina-senate-passes-six-week-abortion-ban/101-a76396fd-3dea-49a4-8749-b9f9cf04da81

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott launched his presidential campaign on Monday, offering an optimistic message he hopes can contrast the two figures who have used political combativeness to dominate the early GOP primary field: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican, made the announcement in his hometown of North Charleston at Southern University, his alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

“Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing. Victimhood or victory?," he told cheering supporters, adding, "Grievance or greatness?"

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/tim-scott-2024-gop-presidential-campaign-annoucement/101-e179ee81-e2d4-48a2-acb3-331129eeed99

The passenger involved in a shooting on a Charlotte Area Transit System bus near a southwest Charlotte mall last week has been identified, police said.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the shooting around 11:15 a.m. on May 18 along Outlets Boulevard, just steps away from a hotel and the Charlotte Premium Outlets.

CATS said It all started with an argument between a passenger and the bus driver. Authorities said things got heated and gunfire erupted. According to police, the passenger, later identified as 22-year-old Omarri Shariff Tobias, pulled a gun on the bus driver, who also pulled out a gun, and they shot each other.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/cats-bus-shooting-charlotte-premium-outlets-mall-suspect-identified/275-75abb7aa-426a-408f-9c6d-9a7ccf415dd8

Watch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT! 

A popular restaurant in Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood said it was vandalized the night before hosting a charity drag brunch aimed at supporting a breast cancer nonprofit.

The Artisan's Palate shared photos on Instagram and Facebook showing a partially-shattered front door and shattered glass windows. The restaurant's caption indicated a man used a mallet to break the glass. Christa Csoka, the owner of The Artisan's Palate, told WCNC Charlotte the man also stole some liquor while breaking other bottles on the floor.

“This is a single woman-owned business and we are very small. Any little bit totally cuts into everything,” said Csoka.

She believes someone tried to break in through the front door. She had replaced it with a thicker glass after a previous break-in months ago. She said once the perpetrator couldn’t get through that door they eventually smashed their way through the sliding patio door.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/artisans-palate-charlotte-drag-brunch-vandalism/275-2c03c9f7-e7d4-41a6-a0e4-8ad60700d953

Gastonia-area fire crews spent part of the early morning Saturday fighting a house fire that claimed the lives of a man and his two dogs.

Gaston County Emergency Management said flames broke out shortly before 3:30 a.m. at the home along Davis Park Road, just south of Gastonia. Crews were alerted when a driver called 9-1-1 after noticing the fire. The driver stopped to honk his horn, before banging on the door to try and see if anyone was inside.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/gastonia/deadly-gastonia-house-fire/275-356c3128-62df-4a67-941a-3577d66d1472

A five-alarm fire near the SouthPark Mall in south Charlotte broke out Thursday, causing a massive first responder presence to fight it.

Charlotte firefighters arrived within minutes of the first call, which was placed around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the Charlotte Fire Department. Fire officials said over 90 firefighters fought the fire and rescued 15 workers from the burning construction site. One person had to be rescued after becoming trapped atop a crane. That person was later rescued by Charlotte firefighters and was transported by Medic with non-life-threatening injuries.

WCNC Charlotte crews could see large smoke clouds and flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air from the area of Barclay Downs Drive and Fairview Road as they were driving to the scene.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/large-fire-in-south-charlotte-under-investigation/275-5912e117-0cb7-46eb-8c42-5ffad2306303

Crews worked to extinguish a fire at a dentist's office that was not scheduled to open until next month.

The Huntersville Fire Department said firefighters were at Riccobene Dentistry on Gilead Road on Wednesday working to put out a fire. Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue was also on the scene.

No information on the cause of the fire has been released at this time. Officials have not stated if any injuries occurred.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/huntersville-dentist-office-suffers-fire-charlotte-north-carolina-fire-dentists-office-riccobene-dentistry/275-ea75de0b-3e01-45fe-926f-d86399fbc9ed