5 Things to Know: Charlotte Fire Rescues Trapped Parachutist from High-Rise

Charlotte Fire Rescues Trapped Parachutist from High-Rise

The Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) was called this week to rescue a parachutist who found himself entangled 100 feet up on the side of a skyscraper in Uptown in the middle of the night.

CFD responded to the call about the man, later identified as 31-year-old Diego Adame of Mint Hill, shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The department detailed the rescue in a Twitter post later that morning, saying that firefighters quickly established a high-angle rope system to descend down to the individual, who was dangling from a building on South Church Street in Uptown’s Third Ward near Levine Avenue of the Arts, and secure him.

By 1:43 a.m., firefighters had safely brought Adame up to the building’s rooftop uninjured.

“After being evaluated by MEDIC, the individual was turned over to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for further investigation,” read a statement from Charlotte Fire. “The subject did not disclose where they had jumped from or how they arrived at their precarious position.”

Adame was taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

“Our firefighters train for these challenging rescues, and their professionalism was on full display last night,” said Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson. “This situation could have ended much differently, but thanks to their skill and teamwork, the individual was safely brought to safety.”

The department also took the opportunity to remind residents that “high-risk activities such as unauthorized parachuting or BASE jumping in urban environments pose extreme dangers and can require complex emergency response operations.”

Man Killed in Uptown Stabbing

A 21-year-old man was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Uptown this week, becoming the 10th homicide victim in the city thus far in 2025.

In the above map tracking last year’s homicide total, black markers signify deaths by gun violence, green markers signify killings that may be deemed justified, red markers signify stabbings, yellow markers signify murder by vehicle, purple markers signify deaths by trauma or unknown cause, and blue markers signify police killings.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Feb. 20, police responded to an assault call on East Trade Street near the Charlotte Transit Center, where they found 21-year-old Leashan McBeath suffering from stab wounds. Medic transported McBeath to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

At the time of this writing, no arrests have been announced related to McBeath’s murder.

NC Supreme Court Rejects Motion to Skip Appeals in Election Challenge

The NC Supreme Court voted 4-2 on Thursday night to reject the state Board of Elections’ (NCBOE) request that Jefferson Griffin’s election challenge bypass the Court of Appeals on which Griffin sits to go directly to the state Supreme Court on which he’d like to sit.

Read more: Residents Rally to Protest Jefferson Griffin Election Challenge

Currently an Appeals Court judge, Republican Jefferson Griffin has been calling on the courts to throw out the votes from 60,000 ballots that he claims came from voters who did not properly register, a claim that neither Griffin’s lawyers nor supporters have provided any convincing legal justification for.

He ran against sitting NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat who won the election by 734 votes, as has been confirmed by multiple hand recounts.

Following a Feb. 8 ruling from a Wake County Superior Court judge that rejected Griffin’s challenge to Riggs’ reelection win, the NCBOE had asked that the NC Supreme Court expedite things by skipping over the Court of Appeals and taking the case on itself.

Thursday night’s decision not to do so means that if Griffin’s colleagues on the largely conservative Court of Appeals do rule in his favor, he will only need a 3-3 vote from the NC Supreme Court to make that decision stand and overturn the election. If it had been bypassed he would have needed a 4-2 vote.

Subject in Police Shooting Arrested After Recovery

CMPD has released the names of three officers involved in a police shooting on South Boulevard earlier this month and arrested the man who was shot.

Two of the officers, Ryan Alberts and Ellis Cox, started together with CMPD on Oct. 25, 2021, while a third officer, Lucas Jayne, began with the department in January 2023. It’s still unclear how many of the three officers fired shots during a confrontation.

According to CMPD’s original report, it was during a traffic stop at around 2 a.m. on Feb. 11, the last of multiple attempts made to stop the same vehicle, that 21-year-old Erik Hernandez exited the vehicle and caused at least one of the officers to fear for their lives and shoot Hernandez.

Hernandez was originally taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. CMPD reported on Thursday that he was released from the hospital and immediately taken into custody then charged with attempted murder on a law enforcement officer and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Though no further details are known at this point, the charges indicate that detectives believe Hernandez did also fire his weapon at some point during the confrontation.

Rail Trail Lights Installation Wraps Up

This is the last weekend for residents to check out the Rail Trail Lights outdoor installation exhibit that kicked off in South End earlier this month.

Each light-up installation along the Rail Trail was designed by local artist Meredith Connelly. She then subcontracted a team of 11 local artists to support the fabrication and installation of each piece. The art walk features a soundscape to accompany the installations that was created by local singer/songwriter Emily Sage.

This year’s exhibit is titled Golden Threads, exploring South End’s journey from an industrial and textile community to a center for art, design and technology, according to the website.

“This series of illuminated installations celebrates nature’s intrinsic intelligence and the human ingenuity it inspires,” reads the site. “Through an immersive, multi-sensory experience, the project invites visitors to reflect on how early innovators observed and applied patterns and principles from the natural world, especially in weaving, community building, and sustainable practices, to shape South End’s cultural and industrial heritage.”

As an an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, Meredith Connelly is best known for her grand-scale installations that emphasize the interplay of light, science and technology. Her illuminated, site-specific displays connect and submerge viewers into glowing, other-worldly environments.

The installations are located along East Bland Street, East Park Avenue, East Kingston Avenue and South Boulevard. You can catch live music at Atherton Plaza tonight from 6–8 p.m.