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Police were investigating after they said five people, including two police officers, were shot Saturday night in Gaston County, North Carolina.
Two men were killed, including one shot by police, while two officers and a woman received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The officers were wounded while responding to reports of an active shooter in the Gaston County neighborhood.
The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting Gaston County authorities following the deadly officer-involved shooting, which led to the discovery of a separate but related homicide.
The Gaston County Police Department’s 911 center received a call from a home on Greenwood Drive on Saturday night. The caller said a man had shot his dad and was still inside the home, according to police.
Officers responded to Merrywood Lane and Greenwood Drive around 9:15 p.m. as more reports came in of an active shooter in the neighborhood.
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When law enforcement arrived at the home, they were confronted by a man outside holding a shotgun and wearing a pistol, according to investigators. The man opened fire and wounded two police officers, Gaston County Assistant Police Chief Joseph Ramey said.
Several officers returned fire and the armed suspect was shot and killed, according to Ramey.
“The next thing we know, seven or eight cops pulled up over here and was getting guns out of their vehicles," said store clerk Nikki Moore. “At that time about 10-15 rounds, shots went off.”
A short time later, investigators also discovered the second fatal shooting scene nearby.
Officers found a man shot and killed at his residence, Ramey said. Investigators believe the gunman killed by police had shot and killed the other man prior to the officers' arrival.
“We have one homicide victim, and the individual who engaged our officers is the suspect in that homicide,” Ramey said.
Ramey said in a late Saturday night press conference that it’s too early to speculate what led up to the initial shooting.
A woman was also shot at another home on Greenwood Drive, Ramey said. He would not confirm the relationships between the two men and woman, but did say the two men were not related to one another.
No names have been released.
“I know we have a couple witnesses and I know we have another individual (woman) that was injured through gunfire,” Ramey said.
The female victim and the two officers who were shot were taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center.
“They are conscious, alert and breathing,” Ramey said. “They’re doing fine.”
The names of the officers have not been released but Ramey said one is a veteran of the department and the other man hasn’t been with the force for a very long time. They were both shot in the "lower extremities," Ramey said.
“I know for the past 18 months, police have been under the microscope,” Ramey said. “The officer-involved shootings are a difficult thing to follow right at the moment but our officers are professional. They acted professional in this incident here and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Gaston County Commission Chair Tracy Philbeck tweeted about the shooting on Saturday, saying "Please keep our officers in your prayers."
WSOC-TV will continue to post updates on this story as they are made available.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to contact the Gaston County Police Department at 704-866-3320 or Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000.
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