Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating the city’s 47th homicide this year – the shooting of a 41-year-old man inside a west Charlotte restaurant/bar.
Police identified the victim as Nelson Bismar Sosa.
Sosa died at Carolinas Medical Center shortly after he was shot inside the Tropical Bar, Restaurant and Game Room in the 4700 block of Tuckaseegee Road. The shooting was reported Saturday at 10:43 p.m.
CMPD had not named a suspect but said Sosa knew his shooter. Police also had not said what triggered the shooting.
Charlotte, like other large U.S. cities, has seen a steep rise in its homicide rate going back to 2016, when police investigated 68 killings, which was up from 60 the previous year. The 2017 homicide rate is on track to reach nearly 100.
Police officials have offered no explanation for the rise in killings – mainly gun violence — but in a meeting with reporters last week, Chief Kerr Putney said that in too many instances people are reaching for weapons to settle petty disputes. The vast majority of the city’s homicides have been between people who knew each other, he said, quoting CMPD statistics.
Anyone with information about a Charlotte homicide is asked to call 704-432-TIPS to speak with a homicide detective, or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit the Crime Stoppers website at http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
