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A shooting took place Tuesday night in a neighborhood near the University of North Carolina. Police opened a homicide investigation into the incident.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released the basic details that preceded their investigation. The shooting took place on the 2100 block of Wit Way.

Just before 9 pm, police received calls reporting multiple gunshots heard in the area. Subsequently, they arrived at the scene to discover one victim within an apartment. They identified the victim as 43-year-old Lamar McNeil. He was still alive when they discovered him.

Medics rushed him to the hospital to treat his gunshot wounds. However, shortly thereafter, he died.

Still in the introductory phase of their homicide investigation, few details emerge. Though, authorities say they don’t believe McNeil resided in the apartment in which they found him. Additionally, he doesn’t appear affiliated with the university.

Police are speaking with witnesses regarding the homicide. However, they reported no suspects at this time. They continue to seek additional witnesses, canvassing the surrounding area in search of new information.

Homicide Rate In Charlotte

Last year, Charlotte saw its biggest number of homicide cases since 1993. Murders reached 107, which doesn’t include 12 killings prosecutors considered justified. In 2019, 14 homicides have take place so far.

WBTV News conducted an audit of cases from 2019 and found little to blame the uptick on. Instead, they found most homicide cases resulted from petty arguments that escalated to gun violence.

To illustrate, they listed some of the reasons they found. One incident followed a dispute over a minor traffic accident. Another concluded an argument over $20. Even social media was listed among the reasons people were killed.

Though, some repetitive reasons like burglary and drug trade also accounted for multiple killings.

North Carolina imposes fewer restrictions on gun ownership. They permit open carry. Theft of firearms from vehicles in 2019 reached 691, a steep climb from a decade ago when that figure was 292 in 2009.

While gun legislation gains some headway across the nation, North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature seems unlikely to follow suit.