Concord Police Officer Dead, Another Wounded After Confronting Suspect

NORTH CAROLINA-One Concord police officer was killed and a second officer was wounded when they confronted a carjacking suspect in a restaurant parking lot late Wednesday, according to the Concord Police Department.

The suspect was later shot and killed by officers, the department said.

Concord officials identified the fatally shot officer as Jason Shuping, 25, who had been with the department since 2019. The wounded officer was identified as Kaleb Robinson, 23. His injuries are non-life threatening, officials said.

The suspect is 29 years old and has a Charlotte address, officials said.

The shootings occurred just before 11 p.m. in the parking lot of the Sonic Drive-In at 7761 Gateway Lane, near Bruton Smith Boulevard, Concord officials said. Concord borders Charlotte, on the Mecklenburg- Cabarrus county line.

Investigators say the incident began with a 911 call around 10:18 p.m. about a vehicle that crashed near the Exit 49 ramp of northbound Interstate 85, officials said.

A Concord police officer and an on-duty state Alcohol Law Enforcement agent responded to the scene, and found an abandoned vehicle that had crashed into a guardrail, officials said.

"A citizen passing by alerted the officers that a male subject had just attempted to take her vehicle while she was in it, and the citizen provided a physical description of the subject and a location ... which is near the Sonic," Chief Gary Gacek said at a news conference Thursday morning.

Two additional Concord police officers and the ALE agent went to the restaurant, where they found a male on foot fitting the description of the carjacking suspect, officials said.

"Moments after the agent and officers approached the subject, the subject pulled out a handgun and began shooting in the direction of the officers. We believe this is the point in time in which the officers sustained their injuries," Gacek said.

"At about the same time as those shots were fired, two additional ( Concord Police) officers approached the area on foot, at which time they observed the two injured (officers) and the subject, who had just entered a nearby SUV that did not belong to him. As these two officers approached there was an exchange of gunfire. ... The subject was struck during that gunfire exchange and sustained fatal injuries."

The two officers involved in the exchange of gunfire were not injured, Gacek said. The officers involved but not injured are 37 and 43 years old, according to Concord officials.

Gacek said responding officers found the fatally shot officer on the ground and the wounded officer standing nearby "protecting the officer."

The State Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation, and three officers who responded have been put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting.

"This loss is devastating not only to the member's family and loved ones but every police officer across the city, state, and country. Please join us by praying for all involved," Concord officials posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Memorials for the officer are welcomed and can be placed at Concord Police Department Headquarters at the corner of Cabarrus and Spring streets, the department said.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of Concord said in a statement he was "devastated" to learn about the death.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the officer we lost, for a full and speedy recovery for the other officer injured, and with all of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep our community safe," he said.

The incident marks the second time in less than a week that a police officer has been killed in the Charlotte area.

Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Avery Herndon was shot and killed early Friday in the Belmont area of Gaston County. A suspect is in custody and has been charged in his killing.

On Oct. 3, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, police officer Jacob Hancher was killed while responding to a domestic call.

More than 500 officers killed in last decade

Concord Police last year reported 118 violent crimes, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports database. That marked an 18% increase from 2018 but a 38% decrease from 2009, data show.

From 2010 through last year, 511 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in the United States, including 11 in North Carolina, according to FBI data.

One North Carolina officer — a Mooresville Police Department K9 officer — was killed last year. Officer Jordan Harris Sheldon, 32, was shot and killed in May 2019 after responding to a routine traffic stop

December is the deadliest month for officers, FBI data show. Fifty-four law enforcement officers were killed in December, from 2010 through 2019. That includes eight last December.

Since 2015, six officers nationwide died responding to a burglary call, according to FBI data.

This is a developing story.

Staff writer Gavin Off contributed to this report.

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