Dozens of police vehicles converged on Northlake Mall in Charlotte on Christmas Eve, although Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police emphasized it was not in response to an active shooter situation or a random act of violence.
The mall was crowded with shoppers around 2:00 that afternoon when police received reports of shots fired. CMPD says an argument broke out between a group of subjects who had a history of feuding with each other. The altercation led to Daquan Antonio Westbrook shooting a gun.
An off-duty officer who was working at the mall, Thomas Ferguson, heard multiple shots and responded to the scene. A CMPD press release from 7:00 p.m. explains what happened next:
“According to witnesses, the subject turned and pointed the weapon at Officer Ferguson who fired his service weapon. Additional officers who were working off-duty in the mall arrived on scene and immediately began rendering aid to the injured subject. Medic responded to the scene and pronounced the subject deceased. The deceased subject has been identified as Daquan Antonio Westbrook, DOB: 04/20/1997. His family has been notified of his death.”
CMPD says detectives are still investigating the officer-involved shooting. Also, the Internal Affairs Bureau will conduct a separate investigation, as is standard with this kind of shooting. In the meantime, Officer Thomas Ferguson is on paid administrative leave. He’s worked for CMPD since 1996.