LaQuanta Franchez Young, a 30-year-old African American woman, tragically lost her life on September 6, 2015, in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the Labor Day weekend of 2015, Charlotte experienced a significant outbreak of violence, resulting in twelve people being shot and five fatalities, including LaQuanta Franchez Young. LaQuanta was outside a house on Echodale Drive when someone fired shots, hitting her.
She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has made only one arrest related to the five killings that occurred during that violent weekend. In November 2015, Quincy Dushawn McWaine, an 18-year-old, was charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in the shooting of Elias Perez, another victim of the same weekend. However, no arrests have been made specifically for the murder of LaQuanta Franchez Young.
LaQuanta's mother, Sonja Watt, has been vocal about her grief and the need for justice for her daughter. She described how LaQuanta went out on Labor Day weekend as dusk was falling, only to become a victim of a drive-by shooting. Sonja Watt continues to communicate with the detective working on her daughter's case, expressing hope that justice will eventually be served.
The Labor Day killings were part of a three-year homicide spike in Charlotte. In 2015, there were 62 homicide victims in the city, with 70 percent of them being African Americans, despite African Americans making up about 35 percent of Charlotte's population. The homicide rate in Charlotte continued to rise in the following years, reaching 69 in 2016 and 87 in 2017, the highest total since 1995.
The tragic death of LaQuanta Franchez Young remains a painful memory for her family and the community. Her mother continues to pray for justice, hoping that the moral universe will eventually bend towards justice for her daughter.
