Charlotte homicide numbers not slowing down

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -The funeral for an innocent 27-year-old mother of two was held Satuurday in Charlotte. Kendal Crank was the 33rd homicide in Charlotte in 2019.

For days, her parents said they hoped their daughter’s death would be a catalyst in helping reduce the sky-high statistics. Then, a couple hours after her funeral, the two latest deaths.

“I mean I was just stunned. It was like, when am I really going to get the message out to stop this violence,” said Will Adams, the founder of Team TruBlue. Team TruBlue is an organization that works to reduce violence in our community.

Adams spoke at Crank’s funeral just hours before another homicide.

“It hurts because we are out here in this community trying to make a difference,” said Crank. “Hug someone and tell them you love them. You have to literally do this like every day.”

WBTV asked Adams if he believe those that need to hear this message are actually listening.

“I think they are hearing it. I just think they need to start paying attention to it,” said Adams. “And that is what we do. We just reach out to that generation that we feel is just lost. They are not lost, they just need us to step up”

Funeral homes offer some unique perspective on Charlotte’s high number of homicides. They spoke to WBTV’s news partners, Spectrum News.

“We have had homicide services every week,” Tito Truesdale, the founder of Rosadale Funeral Home in east Charlotte. “We do not want to be busy because of homicides.”

Truesdale told Spectrum News that they have buried more than 20 of this years homicide victims. They also held the services for Adam’s son who was murdered.

“He actually cares about the family. He cares about the grief that we as parents feel in losing a child,” said Adams.

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