CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Police are still looking for suspects after a pregnant teen girl's body was found in a wooded area of a Mecklenburg County public park early Tuesday morning.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, 17-year-old Hawa Gabbidon's body was found Tuesday morning when a group of men used a wooded path to cut through neighborhoods in the Nevin Community. It happened around 12:30 a.m.
She was found about 50 yards off the roadway. Gabbidon was a CMS student who attended an alternative academy. One of her last known addresses was a center in Charlotte for at-risk females.
"I'm just shocked that somebody actually killed my little sister," Tamba Poinde said.
Officers responded to Thereasea Clark Elder Park and roped off a portion of Rockwell Church Road near Sugar Creek Road in north Charlotte.
WBTV spoke with Mrs. Elder who says the crime that happened in the park named after her is frustrating.
"For that kind of rhetoric and that kind news to be blasted behind my name,"she said.
Crime scene investigators and homicide detectives began to process the area, collecting evidence and taking photos.
Officials said Hawa was shot at least once, but they don't believe her body was dumped there.
The men who found the body were taken in for further questioning. Currently, there's no word on a possible motive or any suspects in the case.
Neighbors told WBTV they were already concerned about safety. One neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she hears gunshots often. She said they have reported issues often to police.
According to police records, CMPD responded to at least five "shots fired" calls in the last month. Neighbors also complained about drug use and the negative impact from a couple of abandoned houses near the park.
The CMPD is asking for help from the public. If you have any information that could help police in this case, you're asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 704-334-1600.
"She was pregnant at the moment so somebody took two lives," Poinde said.
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Gabbidon's mugshot from a Feb. 2012 arrest (Source: Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office)
