Gastonia Police shoot and kill man. Police say the man struck an officer with his vehicle.
Gastonia Police shot and killed a man Wednesday after he struck an officer with a car, according to the department.
Multiple officers fired at the suspect’s vehicle after he struck the officer, who was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, Gastonia Police spokesperson Rick Goodale said at the scene of the shooting.
Goodale said there was “no indication” that the man who police shot was armed. State and local law enforcement are investigating what occurred.
The shooting happened in the 400 block of North Edgemont Avenue, Gastonia Police said in a tweet at 1:10 p.m.
Officers had responded to a reported kidnapping of two children at 12:34 p.m., Goodale said. Once officers found the two children safe inside a home, they were told that the suspect might still be in the area and began searching for him, he said.
Officers found the man in his running vehicle about 30 minutes after the initial kidnapping call, Goodale said.
A 911 caller told police earlier that a man had taken the two kids and was not authorized to have them, Goodale said.
The 911 caller knew the man, Goodale said. He did not specify his relation to the caller or the two children.
Robert Hamlett told the Gaston Gazette that his stepson, Jason Lipscomb, is the man who was fatally shot by officers. Police have not identified the suspect.
The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and the Gastonia Police internal affairs unit will investigate the shooting, police said.
It was unclear late Wednesday afternoon if the officers involved will go on paid administrative leave, but it is a standard procedure after these shootings, Goodale said.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 1:48 PM.
