Inlivian housing team meeting with neighbors concerned about violent crime in Charlotte apartment complexes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Gun violence in Charlotte is prompting neighbors living in subsidized housing to ask for help.

On Tuesday night, housing officials with Inlivian met with neighbors at the Wallace Woods apartments in east Charlotte after a 4-year-old was shot there last week.

On Wednesday night, they met with neighbors at the Robinsdale Apartments in the University City area of Charlotte, where neighbors’ homes and cars were shot into a week ago.

“It was a pow sound,” Rose Dawson, who lives at the Robinsdale Apartments, said. “And then I heard buh buh buh, and that was the gun shot.”

Dawson woke to the sound of a bullet smashing through her front window last week.

“I was scared,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was the target, or if it was a crime in the neighborhood.”

According to the police report, a bullet also went through her neighbor’s car.

“I would like to move because this is the second incident in front of my house,” she said.

A memorial still stands feet away from her apartment, where 21-year-old Delvin Teah was shot and killed back in 2020.

“If there’s someone who’s going to be threatening the health and safety of our residents, we’re going to pursue it to the fullest extent of the law,” Cheron Porter, the Senior VP of Corporate Communications for Inlivian, said. “But we need their help.”

Porter says they are working with CMPD to make sure people feel safe.

Inlivian is launching a “See something, Say Something” program and encouraging neighbors to report what they’re seeing anonymously. The 24/7 hotline can be reached at 980-353-6952.

“They are partners in this too,” Porter said. “They know better than anyone who’s coming in and out of their community.”

Crime Mapping data shows more than 100 crimes reported within a mile of this apartment complex in the past month.

Neighbors like Johnnie Truesdale who has lived here for 30 years, says she wants to see real change.

“I’d like to see a gate with a code before people can enter,” she said.

Inlivian’s CEO and CMPD officers met with neighbors Wednesday night to open the line of communication and share ideas.

Related: Public’s assistance requested in identifying suspect that injured 4-year-old in southeast Charlotte shooting

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