Gunfire erupted outside the Kings Food Store on Waco Road in Kings Mountain Monday afternoon, scattering shell casings across the parking lot and sending a gunshot victim to the emergency room before the suspected shooter sped off in a dark-colored sedan. Police are still searching for whoever pulled the trigger, and they're asking anyone nearby with surveillance footage to come forward.
According to Queen City News, the Kings Mountain Police Department responded to the store around 3:22 p.m. Monday after reports of several gunshots nearby. When officers arrived, they found multiple shell casings not just in the parking lot but also along Walker Street, suggesting the gunfire covered more ground than a single confrontation at the storefront.
Police say the suspect, described as a light-skinned Black man, was riding as a passenger in a dark-colored sedan that fled the scene heading east on Waco Road. That description and the vehicle's escape route are the only details investigators have released so far about who they're looking for.
Victim Turned Up at the ER, Not the Scene
The injured party in this case didn't wait around for paramedics. KMPD Communications learned from Atrium Health that a gunshot victim had been dropped off at an emergency room, and that person was later confirmed to have sustained non-life-threatening injuries connected to the shooting. The victim has not been identified.
By the time investigators had the scene locked down, it was in the hands of specialists. The department's Criminal Investigation Unit was on site working the case, and police say the scene itself is secured while the broader search for evidence continues.
Police Canvassing for Cameras and Witnesses
With no suspect in custody, KMPD is now leaning on the neighborhood itself. Investigators are canvassing the surrounding area for residential and business surveillance video, as well as potential witnesses who might have seen the sedan or the people inside it before shots were fired.
This is not the first time gunfire has rattled this stretch of Waco Road. Back in January, a man named Littlejohn and three other people were wounded in a shooting on the same road, including a 37-year-old woman who suffered minor injuries, according to a separate qcnews.com report. That earlier case drew in outside help, with North Carolina SBI officials, the Gaston County Police Department and the Gaston County Sheriff's Office all assisting Kings Mountain Police in the investigation.
Monday's shooting also isn't the only recent case of gunfire at a Kings Mountain convenience stop. In April, police were searching for 19-year-old Ahmad Leggett after a shooting at the Silver Express gas station near York Road, which WCCB Charlotte reported followed a verbal altercation at a nearby Little Caesars. Leggett allegedly fired multiple rounds toward the victim in that case, though no injuries were reported.
How to Help the Investigation
For now, the Kings Food Store case remains open, with no suspect named and no arrest announced. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kings Mountain Police Department at 704-734-0444 or submit a tip through Cleveland County Crime Stoppers.
