Incident: early Wednesday, September 9, 2026, on the 1200 block of Enderly Road in west Charlotte, North Carolina. Reported by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department the same day, with additional detail released through court records on September 10.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was shot and wounded while answering a call in the department’s Metro Division. The officer was hospitalized in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. CMPD has not released the officer’s name.
CMPD said the call came in at approximately 12:23 a.m. for a suspicious vehicle and two people allegedly engaged in criminal activity. The officer arrived at approximately 12:28 a.m. Police later confirmed the vehicle had been recently reported stolen.
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A suspect shot the officer. According to department officials, the officer did not return fire. No officer discharged a weapon during the encounter.
Court records reported by WCCB describe the encounter as beginning with a report of a suspicious person, and state that the man was wearing a ski mask and cutting a power line with an angle grinder when an officer spotted him. According to those records, the two fought over a gun, and the man fired multiple rounds aimed at the officer’s head, striking the officer in the shoulder before driving away.
The suspect fled. A manhunt ran several hours. Detectives tracked him to a residence on Kings Ridge Drive in the Steele Creek Division of south Charlotte, where he barricaded himself. SWAT officers evacuated surrounding apartments and cordoned the area. He was taken into custody at approximately 2:42 p.m. Wednesday with the help of tracking dogs and tactical teams.
Dionte Antonio McCracking, 28, was arrested. CMPD announced charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm by a felon. WCCB, citing court documents, reports the charges as attempted first-degree murder, assault on a law enforcement officer, and possession of a firearm by a felon. WCCB also reports McCracking was on pre-trial release at the time on charges related to breaking and entering at two car dealerships in August.
CMPD Chief Stella Patterson said there have been three separate incidents in which the department’s officers have been shot at, calling it unacceptable and saying it underscores the growing risks the agency’s employees confront.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating, assisted by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
McCracking made his first appearance in court on Thursday, September 10, 2026. He was denied bond and a public defender was appointed. Court records show that if he is released from custody, he would be required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
On September 12, 2026, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced that McCracking, 28, and his brother, Jatarius McCracking, 27, together face 190 charges in offenses dating back to late July 2026. Sixty-two of those charges are against Dionte McCracking and 128 are against Jatarius McCracking.
Dionte McCracking’s charges include attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm, along with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, felony conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering motor vehicles. Jatarius McCracking’s charges include possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, motor vehicle theft, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and probation and parole violations.
The officer’s name and length of service have not been released.
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