Dangerous Situation As Domestic Dispute Turns Into Shots Fired

breaking-news1GASTON COUNTY, N.C. – Up to 30 Gaston County Police officers converged on a northwest Gaston County neighborhood late Sunday when a man involved in a domestic dispute started shooting a .357 magnum at police cars and other property.

No one had been injured as of 10 p.m. Sunday, but the situation remained extremely dangerous, said Gaston County Police Sgt. J.R. Rollins.

“It’s what we refer to as an active shooter,” said Rollins. “He’s a distraught person and doing what an upset person does.”

The man, whom police declined to identify in regard to the safety of his family, had fired more than eight shots from the handgun, Rollins said.

The man remained in his trailer home on the 100 block of Farnsworth Road, just a few miles outside of Cherryville, although police said it has a Kings Mountain address. Police had blocked off St. Mark’s Church Road in both directions and were asking people to dim their car lights as they turned around so as not to draw attention from the shooter.

The incident began around 8:40 p.m., police said. The man was in the trailer with either his wife or a girlfriend when he asked her to leave. She was able to leave the home safely, but the shooting began sometime afterward, Rollins said.

Police have not gone door-to-door to take people from their homes, but performed a reverse 911 call and told people to take cover inside their homes and remain in safe locations, Rollins said.

About 15 regular patrol officers were on the scene and officers from the department’s Emergency Response Team were also there.  Rollins said officers were not working under a timetable and he did not know how much longer the situation would last.

Officers could be seen taking cover behind buildings, although the darkness and rain hampered visibility.

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