WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A man faces several charges after a shooting at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem.
Police said it happened around 6 p.m. Sunday night inside the Belk. Police said Carlton McCrimmon tried to steal several items from the store. When approached by an employee, he ran. Police said McCrimmon returned a short time later with a gun shooting multiple times at Belk employees. No one was hurt.
Winston-Salem Mayor, Allen Joines, said it is frustrating to see the violence continue across the city.
He said unfortunately it shows the need for added security in these public places.
"It's troubling anytime, in a setting of mass amounts of folks, who are there shopping at lots of stores and lots of opportunities, anytime there's a gunshot in a situation like that," said Joines. "Fortunately, the one yesterday was an isolated incident, no one was seen seriously hurt in that regard, but it's still very concerning."
This is the fourth shooting in two months at a major retailer in the Triad.
Outside of the shooting at Belk, there was one at a Target in Winston Salem, a Walmart in High Point, and a Lowes in Greensboro.
Mayor Joines said the city is not ignoring the problem and says the continues to reach out to other leaders in the city, state, and nation for help.
The city also just passed a budget that includes 1.3 million dollars to go towards addressing violence with different programs.
Joines said he is trying to find a solution.
"Unfortunately for our community, I think we have to delve down and try to address some of those systemic issues or we going to continue to see situations like this," said Joines. "It's a multifaceted effort and it is, as you know, a very complex problem and it's not a simple single-shot solution."
As for the shooting at Belk, Carlton McCrimmon was arrested by Iredell County deputies a short time later for numerous traffic violations. Based on their investigation and the discovery of stolen property, Iredell County deputies contacted the Winston-Salem Police Department connecting him to the Hanes Mall shooting.
Winston-Salem Police also connected McCrimmon to another robbery at the Home Depot on University Parkway earlier in the day.
McCrimmon faces several charges including assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm within the city limits, and discharging a firearm within the enclosure to incite fear. He is currently in the Iredell County jail.
Hanes Mall released the following statement Monday:
"We understand the concerns of the community, and providing a comfortable experience for our guests and employees continues to be our top priority. We continue to employ a full-time third-party security provider and maintain a close working relationship with the Winston-Salem Police Department, which includes hiring off-duty officers to patrol at various times throughout the week, in addition to WSPD’s normal patrols of the area," the mall wrote in a statement. "We evaluate our security procedures on an ongoing basis as well as in the wake of any incident that occurs on property, and make adjustments as necessary. As to yesterday’s incident, we refer you to WSPD and Belk for more information."