AP-NC Newswatch

Latest North Carolina News:

OFFICER SHOT
Police: Teen shoots NC officer investigating car break-in
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina say a 14-year-old shot and wounded a police officer investigating a car break-in. News outlets report that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said officers were called to Winged Elm Court in east Charlotte for a report of a car break-in on Monday morning. Deputy Chief Coerte Voorhees says during a chase the teen fired at police, striking one officer. He says that officer returned fire but didn’t hit the suspect or anyone else. Another officer took the teen into custody. The officer was taken to a hospital with injuries that aren’t considered life-threatening. Police say the 14-year-old will be charged with attempted murder of a police officer and robbery. The officer will be placed on routine paid administrative leave.

CHILD SHOT
Sheriff’s office: Child, 3, accidentally shot self
EDNEYVILLE, N.C. (AP) – A 3-year-old was flown to a North Carolina hospital on Christmas Day after what authorities said was an “accidental self-inflicted shooting.” News outlets report that the Henderson County Sheriff’s office said a 911 caller reported Saturday that a child had been shot in Edneyville. The caller said the “child had gained access to a firearm and had accidentally been shot.” Sheriff’s office spokesperson Johnny Duncan says the child was flown to Mission Hospital but details of the child’s condition were not available. The sheriff’s office would not confirm the events but said detectives are conducting an investigation.

WILDFIRE-GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN
Wildfire near Grandfather Mountain grows to 350 acres
LINVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Officials say a fire on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain has grown. The U.S. Forest Service said Sunday that the fire is estimated to be 350 acres and 10% contained. WCNC-TV reports that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but U.S. Forest Service officials believe it to be caused by someone. Forest Service spokesperson Lisa Jennings says the fire is in a remote area, so it is expected to grow within the containment area until there’s significant rainfall. But Jennings says firefighters have protected structures, so they aren’t at risk. The Linville Volunteer Fire Department said it had crews in the area on standby to protect structures from the fire reported on Friday in the Roseboro area. 

TWO KILLED-WRONG-WAY CRASH
Two killed in wrong-way collision on I-40 in North Carolina
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina police department says two men were killed and a third was injured after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 40 in North Carolina, a police department said. The Greensboro Police Department said a 2004 GMC Envoy being driven by William Junior Grimes, 50, of Greensboro was heading east in the westbound lanes of I-40 on Friday when it hit a 1960 Ford Thunderbird being driven by Tony Hester Vinson, 5o0, of Greensboro. Grimes and Vinson were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Traveras Trenten Chrisp, 38, of Burlington was a passenger in Vinson’s car and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

APARTMENT-SHOOTING DEATH
North Carolina man charged in fatal apartment shooting
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina say one man was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting resulting from an attempted armed robbery at an apartment. Winston-Salem police say officers responding early Saturday to a report of a shooting at a location northeast of downtown found two men with gunshot wounds. According to police, 71-year-old Roy Lewis Moore and 37-year-old Rodney Delane Lindsey were both taken to a local hospital. Moore died, while Lindsey was listed in critical but stable condition. The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Roman Robert Nelson Jr. was charged with murder after he was found at a hospital with a gunshot wound.

DEPUTIES DRAGGED-MAN CHARGED
North Carolina man arrested after 2 deputies dragged by car
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina sheriff’s office says a man was arrested on multiple charges after he dragged two deputies with his car while he attempted to flee from a traffic stop. According to a news release, deputies with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office stopped a car for speeding on northbound U.S. 52 at around 1 a.m. Saturday. The deputies called a K-9 team for backup, and when the team arrived, the driver of the stopped car jumped back in and tried to get away. The deputies were dragged for a distance before they were thrown from the car. The dog remained inside the car until the driver crashed.

RESETTLING FAMILIES-AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Families that fled Afghanistan face rising rents in U.S.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Afghan families who’ve fled the Taliban to resettle in the U.S. are facing yet another challenge: finding affordable housing. WRAL reported Friday that families are facing that problem in the Raleigh-Durham area. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says a total of more than 1,500 Afghans are expected to arrive in the state by mid-February. Omer Omer, the state field director for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, says the agency is having trouble finding landlords who will work with its clients. He says many of the families lack a credit history, which landlords often seek. At the same time, Omer said that rents are rising rapidly.

FATAL DRIVE-BY SHOOTING
Police: Suspects robbed 2 men, kill another man in shooting
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina police department says the suspects in a fatal drive-by shooting also are accused of robbing two people in a nearby apartment complex moments earlier. The Herald-Sun of Durham reports the Durham Police Department said in a news release that officers responding to a location in east-central Durham around 6 p.m. on Thursday found a man and a juvenile who had been shot, The man and juvenile were shot at from a vehicle as they stood outside, and the man died at a local hospital. Police also believe the suspects robbed two people at gunpoint in a nearby apartment complex.