Detectives seek answers from women in the home of deadly shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) – Many questions still surround the deadly shooting in Shannon Park which left four law enforcement officers dead and five others injured.

During a media briefing Tuesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings fielded multiple inquiries about the involvement of the two people, besides the gunman, who were inside the Galway Drive home at the time of the shooting. Officers report a woman and a 17-year-old girl were “voluntarily” at the residence.

Jennings said the pair have been fully cooperative with homicide detectives. Authorities initially reported the teenager was a boy but corrected that statement Tuesday.

As of Tuesday night, officials have not brought charges against anyone but said they have not ruled out the possibility.

“We are not looking or interested in any additional suspects or any persons of interest,” Jennings said. “We feel like we have everyone involved who was at the house we need to speak with.”

The gunman, 39-year-old Terry Hughes Jr., was shot and killed during the firefight. There were early reports of possible shots fired toward police after Hughes was brought to the ground in the front lawn.

“I know I mentioned yesterday some pretty forward remarks about a possibility of a second shooter, we are not ready to say that at this point,” Jennings said Tuesday.

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He said there is a significant amount of body-worn camera footage to look through before determining if there were multiple shooters.

Jennings said he is also not ready to release details about the women’s relationship to each other or to Hughes.

Queen City News Legal Analyst Khalif Rhodes said, unlike investigations in other states, there is no set time to expect the women to be released from police questioning.

“What we have happening, assuming, right now, is that either they already have been released, they’re currently still being detained, or they have been charged but haven’t been arrested,” Rhodes explained. “But never in North Carolina can there be a situation where a person has been detained and not been arrested for a lengthy duration of time because there’s nothing in our statute that for allows that to happen.”

Many states allow officers to “hold” a person for 48 to 72 hours without making an official arrest. North Carolina statute does not address “holding” an individual. Officers can detain someone for questioning for up to several hours, but not multiple days.

“This is a crazy, crazy situation. One of the darkest days in Charlotte history. But while you’re talking about the people that were or were not involved in this incident, you’ve got to allow law enforcement to do their investigation,” Rhodes said. “But there is still something called the Constitution, and we want to ensure that people have due process. Nowhere in our state constitution, or in any statute, does that allow a person to be detained without being charged while an investigation proceeds.”

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