The Associated Press
A report of a suspicious vehicle outside a grocery store resulted in a man trying to run over a police officer, who then shot the suspect, authorities said.
George Robert White Jr., 31, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Huntersville police Officer Scott Sharpe is on administrative duty pending the outcome of investigations by the police department and the State Bureau of Investigation into the shooting of White.
The search for White began Thursday morning with a report of a suspicious vehicle outside a Food Lion grocery store. Police said the stolen car was tied to at least one larceny in the area.
The man drove away, struck a car and sped toward southbound Interstate 77. Because the case involved a property crime, police didn’t pursue the car.
A Huntersville officer later spotted the Civic at a Food Lion in Charlotte. Police said the driver sped away again.
An off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer directing traffic near Long Creek Elementary School then stopped the car a few minutes later, because the car was on the shoulder trying to get around traffic.
As Huntersville officers arrived, they yelled to the Charlotte officer, asking him to detain the driver. The driver threw the Civic in reverse, nearly striking the Huntersville officers. Sharpe fired one shot, authorities said.
The driver sped away a third time.
White was treated at a hospital in Mount Airy for a gunshot wound to the neck after heading in another vehicle toward Virginia, where he was arrested Thursday afternoon just after crossing the border.
The Honda Civic, which was reported stolen Jan. 10 from Fort Mill, S.C., hasn’t been recovered.