Crime Stoppers: Man shoots clerk for no apparent reason - | WBTV Charlotte

There are serious concerns at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) after a man shot a female hotel clerk for no apparent reason. Police are calling it a random act of violence, but it may be more than that.

"This thing has really got the public disturbed," said CMPD Officer Tori Roddey.

There is surveillance video from the Drury Inn on 415 West W.T. Harris Boulevard which shows a thin young man, dressed in camouflage shorts and matching Chicago Bulls hat with a bright red shirt, walking into the hotel office.

Immediately, he pulled out a handgun and shot the hotel clerk in the chest.

"Thank God it went straight through her shoulder area," Officer Roddey said. "A few inches down and she could have been in trouble."

After shooting her, the gunman ran out of the hotel, and never tried to rob the place. So why did he walk in and shoot her? Was there some sort of connection between the two?

"From what we've gathered so far, there's no connection," Roddey said.

Oddly, this same man was seen actually robbing the Rodeway Inn on West Sugar Creek just 40 minutes earlier. He pulled his gun, but didn't use it. He did have some parting words for that clerk.

Officer Roddey explains, "He gets the money and sarcastically said, 'have a safe one.'"

Quietly, police sources say this may have been a gang initiation since the shooter was wearing red, a notorious gang color.

"He's very noticeable, what he has on. He has camouflage shorts with a matching camouflage hat, same color - that's a Chicago Bulls with some red - and a red shirt and some white Jordan's," Roddey said.

And the car he drove is noticeable, too - a dark-colored Nissan Versa Note - a small car with the tag on the hatch, not the bumper. The driver's side wheels are a different style from each other.

"Very concerned about this guy because he's so dangerous in the act of shooting somebody and walking right out like it was nothing," said Officer Roddey. "We need to get this guy off the streets."

If you can help, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 and you could earn a reward up to $1,000. Drury Inns is also offering a $5,000 reward to capture and charge this dangerous man.

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