Gunshot Victim Shot In Steele Creek Tells Her Story

STEELE CREEK- On November 26th, 2023, Angela Smith was bringing her mom breakfast like she did every morning. She was driving down Steele Creek road, approaching the South Tryon Street intersection.

“And something just said, look behind you,” she said.

Smith saw a black Audi A7 coming up fast behind her, quickly swerve around her, then cut her off. Things escalated at the intersection.

“When I look towards my right, the guy in the Audi, he was sitting beside me and I looked over and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And then he just he shot me.”

The bullet went through her passenger door, striking her left thumb, left thigh, and her left ring finger. She said the man continued to sit and stare at her after he pulled the trigger.
“And I said, ‘you shot me’. And he said, ‘yeah’.”

Once Angela Smith pulled out of the intersection, she continued to drive down Steele Creek Road. Then she remembered that this Steele Creek Atrium Heath was just across the street from the Rivergate shopping center. She pulled in and walked herself into the emergency room. She was able to give officers a description of the man and the car. CMPD later arrested 21 year old Herman Kern. He was in jail for one night and then posted bond. No court date has been set for him.

Smith tells WCCB’s Emma Mondo that her insurance will not cover her medical bills associated with the gun shot wounds. Now, she has been evicted from her home as those bills pile up.
“I work hard, and then just for a total stranger to be able to come in and just change my life the way that he did, and then they only offer him 25 months in jail.”

If you would like to help Angela Smith, click here for here GoFundMe.