Quiet night in Charlotte does little to calm tensions
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Is it the end of the chaos, or is the calm just a break in the action?
That simmering question is the talk of the town on Friday in Charlotte, which survived a relatively uneventful third night of protests in the Uptown area.
READ MORE: Charlotte largely peaceful during 3rd night of protest
"It's still a feeling of being on edge," Bryan Ayers, who's been staying at an Uptown hotel this week, told ABC11. "You don't know whats going to happen. You hope for the best and hope everything will remain calm. We won't know until later on."
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On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ayers found refuge in his upper floor room in the Hyatt on East Trade Street. Downstairs, demonstrators shattered the lobby windows.
On Thursday, demonstrators marched down the street but the protest was peaceful, and Ayers credits the National Guard's presence.
"I went up to them and said 'thank you.' They really made a difference."
Even without broken glass or debris to clean up Friday, several visible signs of tension remained in Uptown, including boarded windows and police barricades. The Hornets Fan Shop, which was ransacked in the riot, has been draped and now posts a sign telling fans it's closed for the near future.
There is a scheduled concert at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday night that will still take place. NFL officials have also confirmed that the Carolina Panthers home game on Sunday will still be played at Bank of America Stadium.
