HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — There was a large police presence overnight in the Rosedale area of Huntersville as police conducted an active investigation, according to the Huntersville Police Department. Officers later shared that a domestic disturbance call earlier in the morning escalated after they shot a woman accused of hitting an officer with her car.
The department had an area along Merry Chase Lane and Cordial Lane, right near the area of Gilead Road and I-77, shut off for the investigation on Saturday. The department asked citizens to avoid the area.
There were still about seven police vehicles at the scene around 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Just before 4 p.m., the department shared more information about what happened.
Officers said they were called to a home along Cordial Lane shortly after 1 a.m. for the domestic disturbance. They made contact with the person who made the call and identified the suspect as 44-year-old Amanda Nicole Benton. She was in her own car in a parking lot nearby.
However, Huntersville Police said she sped her car up when officers approached, hitting one officer. That officer then fired their gun into Benton's car, hitting her. She was taken to a hospital to be treated for serious injuries. Two officers, including the one Benton reportedly hit, were treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital.
The department has requested the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) to conduct a criminal investigation, in accordance with standard protocol. The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office has also been consulted. In the meantime, the officer who fired their gun will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the NCSBI investigation and an internal review.
Benton faces the following charges upon release from the hospital:
- Felony second-degree kidnapping
- Felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill
- Three misdemeanor counts of simple assault
- Misdemeanor false imprisonment
- Misdemeanor domestic assault
- Misdemeanor resisting a public officer
- Misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon