CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County is seeing a large number of homicides this year.

What You Need To Know

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report there have been 86 homicides so far in 2022

In 2021 there were 98 homicides and in 2020 there were 118

One grandmother who lost her 14-year-old grandson says there needs to be harsher penalties for homicide, even if the suspect is a juvenile

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reports there have been 86 homicides so far in 2022. In 2021 there were 98 homicides, and in 2020, there were 118.

Yvette Johnson took care of her grandson, Gregory Holmes, since he was 3 years old. She said when he was young he was introverted, but football helped him branch out.

“He loved the comradery of the guys and the coaches, and when he got older, he loved the fact that they traveled,” Johnson said.

Just recently, Johnson was celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary. She said Holmes was at the party, and they took a picture together. Little did she know that was the last picture they would ever take. Five days later, he was killed.

“I went from the happiest time to the saddest time,” Johnson said. “It was something that I can never imagine.”“I went from the happiest time to the saddest time,” Johnson said. “It was something that I can never imagine.”

CMPD reports Holmes was shot and wounded on Aug. 11. He later died at a hospital. They say a juvenile suspect was arrested.

Johnson says her grandson leaves behind a brother who is 9 and a sister who is 4.

“She [the sister] wanted to know what happened to him and why they killed him,” Johnson said. “I was like wow, a little 4-year-old wants to ask me this, ‘what is his name, why did they kill him?’”

Johnson wants anyone who commits crimes like these to understand the impact it has on people, young and old. It’s why she hopes to see tough penalties even if the suspect is a juvenile.

“I understand he is a juvenile, but if someone commits wrongdoing over and over again, at what point do we say we have to stiffen it up?” Johnson said. “We can’t just slap them on the wrist.”

She hopes no other families have to endure the pain that hers has.