A suspect allegedly shot a Kings Mountain, North Carolina, police officer Saturday night during an exchange of gunfire. This is the fourth shooting of a Charlotte-area officer in the past two weeks, officials say.
A Kings Mountain resident contacted police about a suspicious person on their back porch Saturday night, WSOC TV9 reported. Dispatchers sent Corporal Frank Lee Whittington, Jr. to investigate.
Whitting confronted the suspect near a country club. During the contact, the officer and the suspect exchanged gunfire and left both shooters injured, the local news outlet reported.
Kings Mountain Police Chief Lisa Proctor told reporters that Whittington was out of surgery and is expected to recover. She did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
The as-yet-unidentified suspect is reportedly undergoing surgery for his wounds.
“We are very thankful that he is still alive and that we are not planning funeral number three in the last week-and-a-half for another officer,” the chief told the local news station. She referred to the shooting deaths of officers in Concord and Mount Holly.
“He is thankful for the support, and that he is still alive,” Proctor said. “The outpouring from the community has been overwhelming.”
“It’s insane. This is insane,” Proctor said in a press conference reported by WBTV. “What law enforcement is having to put up with and deal with now, more than ever, it is kind of hard to talk about.”
“My officers, and about 99 percent of officers in this great nation, stand for integrity,” Chief Proctor continued. “We stand for pride. We stand for community, love and involvement, not just part of the community but all of the community. Not just one side of the country club, but all sides of every development, whether it be the lowest-income in town or whether it be the country club.”
“Are there bad apples out there, across this nation? We’ve all seen it,” Proctor explained. “Let me tell you, nobody hates a bad cop more than those of us who are good, those of us who have the integrity and moral fortitude to go to work every day and do what’s right, even when we are being spat on, attacked or shot, we continue to go because it is a calling by God.”
“No one, I mean no one, knows what it costs to put one of these badges on every morning, knowing that as soon as you go out that front door, you are an instant target,” the chief concluded. “I know no other people that are willing to lay down their lives except Christ, the military, and police officers.”
“It’s the fourth time in less than two weeks that a Charlotte-area police officer has been shot on duty,” according to WRAL news. “Two of the officers, Jason Shuping with the Concord Police Department and Tyler Herndon, both 25, with the Mount Holly Police Department, died.”
Concord Police Officer Kaleb Robinson sustained a non-life-threatening injury after being shot alongside Shuping.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.
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