NC shooting suspect tumbles 50 feet into quarry, still clutching gun as deputies arrived
A suspect in the domestic-related shooting of a 7-year-old North Carolina girl and her mom tumbled 50 feet into a quarry and was still clutching a gun when deputies arrived at the scene late Wednesday, authorities said Thursday.
Deputies were dispatched to the area around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The girl was found in a home off Noles Circle north of Lincolnton, where she had been shot in the back, and her 33-year-old mother was found on the kitchen floor with multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said.
Lincoln County EMS took the girl and her mother to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Both are in stable condition, authorities said.
Deputies were searching the woods off Horseshoe Lake Road for the suspect when they heard someone call for help.
The suspect fled into the woods before deputies arrived, then they heard someone crying out for help, authorities said. The man apparently had fallen 50 feet into a quarry, officials said.
They found 27-year-old Paul Eric Lamkin Jr. of Lincolnton with head and other injuries. He complied when deputies ordered him to drop a .38 caliber pistol, according to the news release.
EMS carried Lamkin out and took him to Caromont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia. His condition was not known.
Investigators said they obtained warrants charging Lamkin with two felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and a felony count of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling. Deputies said they will serve the warrants when Lamkin is released from the hospital.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 12:57 PM.