Manhunt ends with shooting suspect in handcuffs: 'I was scared'

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Law enforcement officers have captured the suspect who they said shot a man and kidnapped another person before leading police on a wild manhunt Wednesday in Gaston County.

The shooting happened Wednesday morning on Bowling Green Drive in Clover, South Carolina. Victor Daniel Payne, 46, was taken to the hospital after being shot in the stomach.

Officers told Channel 9 that the suspect, 30-year-old Robert Lee Beverly, also kidnapped a woman and stole her car. He eventually let her go, but then led officers on a desperate chase.

After Beverly crashed the getaway car six miles away in Gaston County, officers hit the ground with guns drawn. That's when police said Beverly started running through yards, even pulling on doors to see if he could get into homes.

There were two areas along Robinson Road where officers were concentrated. One was Little Mountain Road, where Beverly was last seen. The second area was off Cedar Grove Drive where Beverly crashed his car and ran.

Tips from neighbors helped police K-9s find him. More than 16 hours after the shooting, Beverly was taken into custody, and Channel 9 was there when he was placed in handcuffs.

When Beverly was arrested he was quite talkative, but never confessed to anything.

"I wasn't running to make their day hard," Beverly told Channel 9. When asked why he ran then, Beverly said, "Because I was scared. They said, 'Put the gun down.' I was like, 'Alright,' so I threw it down, then they turned the (expletive) dog loose."