Gastonia Police Officer Shoots Man Who Was Stabbing Store Clerk

gun tape

A police officer shot and severely injured a convicted murderer who was stabbing a clerk working the night shift at a QuikTrip convenience store, investigators said.

The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the QuikTrip on 310 E. Long Ave, which is across from Gastonia Police headquarters and a common stop for Gastonia police officers, according to store clerks.

According to police, Detective Jeff Wooten had just stopped into the convenience store when he saw the night-shift store clerk being attacked by a man with a knife.

Ryan Sherwood, the clerk, was stabbed multiple times by the man, leaving serious injuries. Sherwood said it was clear the stabber was there to kill him by how much he was charging during the act.

According to investigators, the assailant was 47-year-old Brady Alan Hines of Gastonia who was convicted of killing his mother in Weaverville, near Asheville in 1998 and spent 15 years in prison.

Hines, who was 29 at the time he went to prison, had wrapped his 54-year-old mother’s body in a blanket and put her in her 1996 Volvo’s trunk. He was arrested in Wake County while visiting friends.

On Saturday, Wooten ran to pull Hines off Sherwood at the store, then confronted Hines who still held the knife before shooting him. The store’s surveillance video captured the stabbing and shooting, QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said, although it is only released to police investigators. 

Hines was taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center for treatment. He was not yet charged as of Sunday night.

According to police, Sherwood was recuperating Sunday at at his home on Sunday.

The shooting is being investigated by  The State Bureau of Investigation. Its finding will be presented to the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office, according to police.

Police also said The Gastonia Police Department Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative investigation. Wooten was put on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is the standard after a shooting involving an officer.

 

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