A deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service shot and killed a man in east Charlotte on Tuesday while trying to serve “several outstanding warrants,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported.
The shooting happened shortly after 11 a.m. in the 2200 block of The Plaza, at a Citgo station across from some apartment buildings.
The dead man was identified as Frankie Jennings, who was killed on his 32nd birthday.
According to CMPD’s account of the shooting, one of the deputies who was attempting to serve the warrants “perceived a lethal threat and fired a service weapon, striking the man.” Jennings died at the scene.
According to CMPD, a firearm was recovered. The police department did not disclose the nature of the outstanding warrants or whether Jennings was holding a gun.
Hours after the shooting, a police presence was still heavy at the scene, where a small group of protestors carrying Black Lives Matter signs shouted at passing cars: “Police shot an unarmed Black man today,” they said.
A woman who identified herself as Tannya Jennings said she was the dead man’s sister and had come down from Brooklyn, N.Y., to be with him on his birthday.
“They didn’t even do a good job of cleaning his blood off the pavement,” she said. “That was my brother.”
Originally from Brooklyn, Frankie Jennings, who was Black, had lived in Charlotte for about 20 years and owned an auto detailing business, the Charlotte Observer reported. He was the father of four children — two girls and two boys.
The Observer reported that Jennings faced a warrant relating to an incident that happened in Carolina Beach, south of Wilmington, on March 4. The warrant alleged that Jennings committed three felonies stemming from a 4:30 a.m. confrontation. The charges included assault with a deadly weapon against a government official, fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, and reckless driving to endanger.
The Observer cited federal Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte as its source relating to the warrant.
Anthony Jett, a construction worker, said he was near the scene when he heard three shots then saw a flood of police cars. At first, he said, he thought the sound had come from fireworks, but when he saw a helicopter hovering over the gas station, he said, “I knew it was serious.”
No law enforcement officer was injured in the incident, and no CMPD officers were involved, according to the department.
CMPD will lead the investigation, the department said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 704-432-TIPS to speak with a homicide detective, or contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.
