STATESVILLE, N.C. — A standoff in north Statesville Wednesday afternoon has been cleared.
The Statesville Police Department shared the alert online just before 5 p.m., asking people to stay away from Hartness Road, just south of I-40. Officers said they were dealing with a suspect involved in a road rage incident that happened earlier in the day.
The department advised that Fieldstone Circle and Ashley Place, located just off Hartness Road, were closed.
Later in the evening, the department provided more information.
Statesville police said they were first called for shots fired near Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Lakewood Drive. A woman said a male driver in another car had engaged in road rage and followed her and her daughter. She drove to the National Guard Armory to call for police.
At the armory, the woman said the man got out of his car and fired several rounds from a handgun at the ground near where her car was parked. While one round hit the car, neither the woman nor her daughter were hurt.
The suspect then drove off, but he was found later at a home off Fieldstone Circle shortly after. Police said the woman's detailed description of his car helped them track him down, and they began setting up a perimeter.
Initially, officers said the man refused to come out of his home. However, he finally left the house around 5:30 p.m. and was taken into custody without further incident. He was then taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.
The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Clifton Lamont Wellman of Statesville. He was medically cleared from Iredell Memorial Hospital on Wednesday night.
Wellman was taken before the Iredell County Magistrate and was charged with the following offenses:
- Discharge Weapon into Occupied Property (Felony)
- Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Misdemeanor)
- Discharging a Firearm in the City Limits (Misdemeanor)
He is currently being held without bond at the Iredell County Detention Center.
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