By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Fred Clasen-Kelly and Shane Ryan
Observer Staff Writers

Suspected gang members squared off against one another. A mob burst into a store, taking whatever it could grab. And dozens of people sprinted through the streets, yelling "Gun!"

In the end, one person was fatally shot last weekend, another hospitalized with a gunshot wound and 70 arrested uptown in one of the city's largest mass arrests in recent memory.

On Tuesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Rodney Monroe said unrest that followed the Food Lion Speed Street festival caused panic, but insisted officers "never lost control of the uptown."

"Did we have fights? Yeah, we had fights," Monroe said. "Did we have disturbances? Yeah, we had disturbances. ... But at no time did we ever feel that we lost control of the center city."

But eyewitnesses, business managers and others interviewed by the Observer described a chaotic scene late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

On North Tryon Street, more than 50 young people overran a convenience store, "taking everything they could put their hands on," one worker said. All of them escaped before police arrived, he said.

On College Street, security guards at Fuel Pizza called police multiple times to report "a dozen fights in the streets," owner Zach Current said.

The incidents raise questions about crime uptown as well as the city's ability to provide security during major events, including next year's Democratic National Convention. A melee also broke out after a Fourth of July fireworks show in 2006.

Mayor Anthony Foxx vowed that police would find the culprit in the shooting and those responsible for the disorder.

"The crime that took place Sunday morning is disturbing and unacceptable," Foxx said in a statement. "While Charlotte's crime rate is the lowest in 30 years, the events of Sunday morning are a harsh reminder that we still have more work to do."

Republican mayoral candidate Scott Stone, who is challenging Foxx in this year's election, said the city has failed to enforce its curfew for children younger than 16. Stone and others said some of those involved in the weekend fracas were between ages 10 and 12.

Some 25,000 to 30,000 people had congregated along Trade and College streets when the trouble started.

Several groups of 50 or more people confronted each other and ignored police commands to disperse. Some flashed gang signs, police said.

"There was a lot going on uptown," Monroe said. "You just had kids up there running amok - kids yelling 'gun!' and 25 of them taking off running."

Shortly after 1 a.m., a gunman fatally shot Antwan Terrell Smith, 22, on Third Street across from the Hilton. Durante Kavon James, 22, was shot in the leg but is expected to survive. Police on Tuesday had not made any arrests.

Monroe said the shootings stemmed from an ongoing neighborhood feud between two groups that had gang overtones, but he wouldn't identify the gangs.

Smith's sister disputed that account.

Shatawna Smith told the Observer her brother was at Speed Street with two friends.

Men her brother knew approached the group, she said, and accused one of the friends of theft. An argument broke out and later, about a block away, shots were fired, she said.

Antwan Smith had interceded on behalf of his friends, she said, and was shot in the head.

Smith, 22, the father of a 4-year-old, frequently hung out at the Transportation Center across from Time Warner Cable arena.

"He'd get up early in the morning and go there," Shatawna Smith said. "That's where everybody would hang out. That's where everybody knew him from."

Smith's sister encouraged anyone with information to call police.

"Nobody has the right to play God," she said.

Smith had been arrested several times in Mecklenburg County, according to a search of N.C. court records. In 2005, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and sentenced to three years of probation. In 2006, he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. Last August, he was found guilty of assault on a female.

Capt. Jeff Estes, commander of CMPD's Central Division, which oversees the uptown area, acknowledged the number of arrests was larger than normal for a weekend night in uptown. But he said it was an effort by police to curb trouble before it worsened.

Estes said he knew of no confrontations between the troublemakers and two other groups in uptown at the time - those spending the evening at center city clubs and restaurants, and the people visiting Speed Street, the NASCAR-related concerts and displays in uptown.

Monroe said uptown was staffed by several hundred officers during and after Speed Street and that 100 more were called in around 7:30 p.m. when police realized crowds were larger than anticipated.

At the time of the shootings, Monroe said, center city was staffed at optimal levels.

Alphonso Spears, 21, arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting a public officer and disorderly conduct, said police tactics escalated the atmosphere. He told the Observer he was walking while looking for his cellphone when an officer ordered him to keep moving. "I said, 'Don't put your hands on me.'"

"Everybody was just out there having fun, drinking, a couple of people screaming this, screaming that. When (police) set the mood, then everyone erupted."

Laquan Hoe, 18, also said he was wrongly arrested. Hoe said police stopped him for obstructing a sidewalk when he was waiting for a ride.

When he tried to explain, he said the officer responded: "'What'd you say?' And he locked me up. I didn't know you could be arrested for not walking on a sidewalk."

Charlotte Area Transit System ramped up security Saturday for the large crowds.

Extra officers were posted at the transportation center, and no one was allowed to enter without providing a destination, among other precautions. None of the arrests Sunday occurred inside the center. Staff researcher Maria David contributed.

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