CHARLOTTE — An officer-involved shooting investigation is underway early Thursday night in north Charlotte, police said.
It happened on West Sugar Creek Road near Interstate 85, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.
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Officers were patrolling the “high crime area” at about 6:30 p.m. and saw the suspect who was armed. He was known by police to be a convicted felon with a violent history, including murder and attempted murder.
CMPD officers went up to the armed suspect in the parking lot of the Chicken Box restaurant. There was a brief struggle and officers said there was an imminent deadly threat.
“A struggle did ensue,” said CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings. “The officers that were there noticed that he still had at least one firearm in his possession. During the struggle, they noticed he had two firearms in his possession. Officers perceived an imminent threat. At that point, gave him several commands to drop the weapon, drop the firearm. One officer fired a shot at the individual.”
That was when an officer shot the suspect, who was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The suspect’s two guns were recovered from the scene.
Convicted felons are not allowed to have any guns.
The State Bureau of Investigation took over the case and CMPD Internal Affairs is conducting its own investigation, too.
No additional details have been made available.
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.