GASTONIA, N.C. — A woman is dead after she reportedly fired her own gun at officers Saturday afternoon, wounding one officer.
Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard said two officers responded to a "violent domestic situation" along South King Street around 1:20 p.m. They found a woman armed with multiple guns and tried to get her to put them down.
However, Conard said she fired at the officers, wounding one of them. She also was hit by gunfire from the officers and died at the scene.
The wounded officer was taken to CaroMont Regional Hospital for treatment. Conard said the officer was in stable condition and was rushed there in another officer's car.
Conard also said the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will be leading an external review of what happened. Gastonia Police will also launch its own parallel review.
When asked how many rounds were fired, Conard said that information was not yet available. He also said witnesses reportedly heard officers ask the woman to put her guns down.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper shared a message of support on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, saying he spoke with Chief Conard to offer any state resources.
Prior to an afternoon news briefing held at police headquarters, someone claiming to be the woman's aunt spoke with WCNC Charlotte. She admitted the woman shot at officers, but was upset with how many rounds she believed were fired at her niece.
"You ain't gotta shoot somebody so many damn times," she said. "She shot the police in the leg, they shot her 27 times. Why?"
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