One police officer is dead and one is wounded after a shootout near popular shopping center Concord Mills outside of Charlotte on Wednesday night.
The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating after a Concord Police Department officer was killed and one was injured in the incident. The gunman also died in the incident, according to a statement from the police department. CPD has identified the officer killed as 25-year-old Jason Shuping. He had 1.5 years of service. The injured officer was identified as 23-year-old Kaleb Robinson.
The deceased suspect was a 29-year-old with prior a felony conviction, according to police.
“Today we are morning the loss of a beloved family member who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty late Wednesday night. Officer Jason Shuping served the citizens of Concord and the Concord Police Department since 2019. He will truly be missed by all,” the department wrote. “We also extend our prayers of healing to Officer Kaleb Robinson, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the same incident.”
About 8 a.m. Thursday, Concord Police Chief Gary Gacek shared more details with news station WSOC-TV. According to Gacek, the officers received a call about 10:18 p.m. Wednesday about a car crash on Interstate 85 near the northbound ramp to Bruton Smith Boulevard. The car was found crashed into a guardrail.
A woman near the crash site told police that a man had attempted to take her vehicle near a Sonic Drive-In. The officers went to the Sonic to search for the possible suspect. They arrived to find a man matching the woman’s description. That suspect pulled out a handgun and began shooting, Gacek said, which was when both CPD officers were hit.
“There’s no playbook for this,” Gacek said in his statements Thursday morning. “CPD is comprised of a resilient bunch. We’re gonna get through this; we’re a big family. It’s gonna be tough. It’s gonna affect us in different ways at different times. But we got a huge support system. We are going to get through this.”
No names have been released. Police still have not determined what led to the crash.
“This tragic and senseless loss of our CPD family is devastating,” Gacek said at the news conference. “It’s tragic incidents like these that serve as a grim reminder of the fact that police officers take an oath to serve their community and lay their lives on the line.”
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