Shots fired during police chase with armed robbery suspect, investigators say

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Two men have been arrested and charged following a police chase that led to shots being fired early Tuesday morning, according to the Rock Hill Police Department.

At approximately 1:15 a.m., police were dispatched to a call about an armed robbery at the Circle K on Cherry Road.

One of the suspects went inside with a gun and demanded money.

At the scene, police were told that the possible suspects fled the scene in a silver SUV with a North Carolina license plate and plastic on its driver’s side window.

Around 1:20 a.m., a Rock Hill police officer spotted the suspected vehicle on Cherry Road near Constitution Boulevard. Police said they attempted to perform a traffic stop, however, a chase ensued.

Police said the chase continued through York and Chester counties and during the chase, the passenger fired several gunshots at officers.

At one point, the York County Sheriff’s Office, the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol were involved in the pursuit.

Eventually, spike strips were deployed, and the chase came to an end.

Resident Susan Barnett lives on Bryson Creek Drive.

“Then we started seeing spotlights and said something’s going on,” Barnett said.

She said after officers used spike strips to stop the suspect’s car, she saw detectives run after him.

“So we got up and looked out and saw the police cars out on the road and about four of them and a car sitting there and our first thought was somebody’s running,” Barnett said.

The driver, Andrew Gunner Johnson, 23, was taken into custody, while the passenger in the vehicle fled on foot, according to police.

A K-9 officer was used to track down the second suspect, Ronald Eugene Wilson, 36, who was in a crawlspace in a house.

He was taken into custody, as well.

“That’s scary and really for the people in the house that they went under,” Barnett said.

Johnson has been charged with failure to stop for blue lights, accessory to armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy.

Resident Akiah Pruitt is staying away from the Circle K.

“I have a child,” Pruitt said. “I come up here to fill up my gas while she’s in the car. The fact that something like that can happen while I have her with me is really scary.”

Wilson has been charged with armed robbery, criminal conspiracy, and possession of a weapon during a crime of violence.

The York County Sheriff’s Office said it will be issuing attempted murder charges against Wilson as a result of the shots fired at officers during the pursuit.

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