NC police kill woman who shot an officer in Gastonia on Saturday, chief says

Gastonia Police fatally shot a woman who fired multiple rounds into an officer’s legs Saturday afternoon, Police Chief Trent Conard said.

The officer was in stable condition at a local hospital, Conard said at a 5 p.m. news conference. He remained at CaroMont Regional Medical Center.

Two officers encountered the woman after responding to a domestic violence call in the 400 block of South Kings Street at 1:19 p.m., the chief told reporters.

The woman “was armed with multiple firearms,” Conard said.

Witnesses told police that the responding officers could be heard yelling, “Drop the guns, drop the guns,” several times before the woman shot the officer, Conard said.

Both officers returned fire, killing the woman, he said.

Police have yet to release the names of the woman and the officers. Police spokesman Bill McGinty said he didn’t know if someone in the home was injured during the domestic-violence incident.

SBI to investigate shooting

Conard said he and Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page called in the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to investigate the circumstances of the shootings. That’s standard protocol when an officer shoots or is shot by someone, Conard said.

SBI agents were processing the scene later Saturday, McGinty said.

The SBI will be the lead agency investigating the shooting, and the Gastonia Police Department will conduct an internal investigation into the circumstances, Conard said.

State Attorney General Josh Stein earlier in the day had confirmed that an officer had been shot. “My prayers are with the officer, their family, and the Gastonia Police Department,” Stein said on X, the former Twitter, just after 4 p.m.

This story was originally published May 18, 2024, 4:52 PM.