/ CBS News
Gun violence declared a public health crisis
North Carolina police are searching for a suspect in a series of five shootings in the Charlotte area that officials believe are connected.
Police responded to the first reported shooting at around 1:05 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9. A man inside his vehicle had a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim, identified by CBS News affiliate WBTV as Mustaffa Muhammad, 58, is believed to have been shot by someone driving by, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.
Several more shooting incidents were reported in the next half hour. A bicyclist called police to say that he had been shot at around 1:09 a.m., and another victim's car was struck by gunfire "a short time later." Neither person was injured.
Officers also responded to a party where a group of individuals said a person in a vehicle had fired multiple rounds in their direction at around 1:11 a.m. No one at the party was shot, but a nearby home was struck and a woman inside sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
At 1:25 a.m., police responded to a another report from a cyclist who was shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Nearby, another home had been struck by gunfire, with no injuries reported.
The injured woman and cyclist were both transferred to Charlotte's Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, police said.
Police said that because of the time and locations of the reported shootings, they believe the incidents are "could be connected." Police have not publicly identified a possible suspect, and no arrests have been made. No information about the weapons used is available.
"It's nerve-racking. You know, thinking that someone can just drive past or, you know, if we're driving somewhere, someone can do something like that to us or our kids," an anonymous parent told WBTV.
The department told WBTV that it is investigating tips that came in on Wednesday afternoon. A $10,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest.
A press conference is expected to be held on Thursday afternoon.
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.