3 people found dead in wrecked car on rural NC road in suspected murder-suicide
In what police suspect was a double murder-suicide, three people were found shot dead in a crashed car on a rural Gaston County road Monday afternoon.
Officers found two men and a woman dead in the car that wrecked in the 300 block of Robinson Clemmer Road near Dallas, according to a Gaston County Police Department news release. On Tuesday, officials said a 911 call about the wreck was made around 3:15 but it’s believed the incident and shooting may have happened earlier “prior to 1:30.”
Police said they saw bullet holes in the driver’s side window when they were called to the scene about 3:15 p.m.
Found dead were the driver, 57-year-old Darlene Hardin of Kings Mountain; front-seat passenger Benjamin Barett Simmons, 65, of Gastonia; and backseat passenger, 34-year-old Kings Mountain resident David James Bright, police said.
Bright died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to the release, and is suspected of killing Hardin and Simmons.
Police haven’t said how the three knew each other or if they know what prompted the shooting.
Police urged anyone with information about the shooting to call Gaston County Police Detective J. P. Brienza at 704-866-3320 or Crimestoppers at 704-861-8000.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 10:19 AM.