Men tried to blend in with plant workers after nearby shootout, witnesses say

CONCORD, N.C. — Witnesses said four men tried to blend in with workers at an asphalt plant after reportedly being involved in a shootout outside a convenience store nearby.

Police responded around 3 p.m. Tuesday to reports of gunfire at the 7-Eleven on Poplar Tent Road near Interstate 85 in Concord.

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Officers said when they got there, they found a black Nissan that had been shot into multiple times.

Channel 9 crews could see a large police presence at the scene, and officers were surrounding the car.

Witnesses told police that 24-year-old Damoryia Bryant and three other men pulled up at the convenience store in a white Honda and rammed the Nissan.

They said Bryant then got out of the car and started shooting at the driver of the Nissan.

As the driver tried to get away, bystanders said Bryant kept shooting, hopped back into the Honda and sped off.

Shortly after, workers at the Blythe Brothers Asphalt Company said the men snuck into the plant through a fence and tried to blend in.

"They talking to each other," plant employee Sherod McNeil said. "They're on their phone, walking behind the pallets."

McNeil said when another employee confronted the men, they asked to stay.

"They're like, 'We just trying to blend in, we need to use the bathroom,'" McNeil said.

Plant employees had no idea about the huge shootout that had just occurred around the corner, but said they knew the men weren't supposed to be there.

So, they said they flagged down officers and told them about the trespassers.

Eventually, officers found the men and arrested them.

Bryant was charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana.

The three other men were released.

Officers told Channel 9 that only Bryant is facing charges because he pulled the trigger during the shootout.

[ALSO READ: Family of uptown shootout survivor says he's lucky to be alive]

Police have not said what led to the gunfire but did tell Channel 9 that they do not believe the incident was random.

No one was hurt.

Anyone who witnessed the shootout or has information about the case is asked to call the Concord Police Department at 704-920-5000 or Cabarrus County Crime Stoppers at 704-93-CRIME.

Cox Media Group