Shots Fired After A Parking Lot Dispute In Lincolnton

Lincolnton, NC – Authorities say two people were arrested following an altercation on NC Highway 18 that involved a shot being fired into an occupied vehicle.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the incident after a male subject was found in the parking lot of the Vale Hardware bleeding from the head, mouth and nose.

Deputies determined that two vehicles, a Toyota Camry and a Dodge Dakota, arrived at the parking lot about the same time and an altercation occurred shortly after.

The driver of the Dodge Dakota ,Rhyan Keith Arnett, was reportedly knocked to the ground and suffered a head injury.

Authorities say the occupants of the Toyota Camry fled the scene and a shot was fired at the vehicle shattering the back glass.

Deputies say they located a rifle and ammunition in the Dodge Dakota.

Detectives later located and charged one of the occupants of the Toyota Camry, Christian Thomas Carpenter, 20, with assault causing serious bodily injury and another, Christopher Lee Saylor, 30, with one count of discharging a weapon into an occupied moving vehicle.