Friday night nightclub shooting victim speaks out

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Gunfire filled the air Friday night at an Uptown Charlotte nightclub. And now Ardy Holmes hears a different sound, one that he will have to get used to for a while. 

“I looked down and I see a bunch of blood, my shoes covered in blood, everything covered in blood,” Holmes said. 

Holmes was ending a night out with his friends and girlfriend that night at Encore Nightclub. 

He says that as he was walking his girlfriend to her car, he was robbed for his jewelry. 

“It couldn’t really just come off easily so we basically spin in a circle and the dude’s friend or whoever, he is just started shooting. Boom next thing you know,” Holmes said.

Now, he relies on a wheelchair to get around.

“I was in a life or death situation during that time because I could barely breathe, I could barely see,” he said.

CMPD released its mid-year crime statistics on Thursday, citing a dramatic drop in crimes — a 25% drop in violent crimes, aggravated assaults like the one Holmes was involved in are down nearly 30%. 

While a 16-year-old was arrested for Friday’s murder, officials say juvenile crime has fallen 16%. 

Despite his incident, he still feels secure in the city. 

“I honestly don’t feel like Charlotte is a bad place for crime, but I do understand that it’s smaller cities that surround around Charlotte with unraised kids, and boys and stuff like that, so that could create more crime,” he said. 

Holmes isn’t going to let his injury keep him from staying active in the community and encouraging youth football players to reach for the stars — even from a wheelchair. 

“I’m trying to turn my pain into gain and turn my pain into inspiration and turn my pain into motivation for my community,” he said.