Officer Involved Shooting: Witness Describes Scene

DALLAS, N.C. — A man is dead after a Dallas Police officer shot him Tuesday afternoon.

Two green tarps blocked the suspect’s body and car from passing traffic on HWY 321. Police aren’t releasing the man’s name until they notify family, but say he hit an officer’s patrol car and an officer shot him.

Dan Shortridge was driving past as it unfolded.

“It was scary,” said Shortridge. “He was pointed down into the window, and I couldn’t see anybody in there, but he was pointing down. The car was all beat up, down in a gully.”

The State Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation since it involved the Dallas Police Department. Agents gathered evidence for more than ten hours.

Dallas Police Chief Gary Buckner says officers came to Ingles on West Trade Street in response to two suspects trying to use fraudulent checks.

An officer in the parking lot noticed the grey car in the parking lot as one linked to previous bad check cases. He tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver sped off.

Investigators say he led the officer up Highway 321 North only to wreck at Hardin Road.

“As officers approached the suspect vehicle, the suspect struck one patrol vehicle, and an officer discharged his weapon,” said Chief Buckner.

The suspect drove another mile before wrecking again. Officers say they tried first aid, but the suspect was dead.

By Tuesday night, the SBI wasn’t saying how many shots the officer fired or if the suspect was armed.

State law says a vehicle is a deadly weapon. Whether it was enough to warrant the officer shooting, Chief Buckner says, “That’s the part of the investigation that the SBI and that the police department internal investigation will be looking at.”

*Police have not identified the shooting victim. They are asking if anyone can identify the victim that was shot and killed in the officer-involved shooting to call Gaston County Crime Stoppers.