NC man tells deputies he fired gun into the ground not at them, sheriff’s office says
Immediately after sheriff’s deputies in Rowan County arrested a burglary suspect, a man fired a gun at them from a passing vehicle, officials said Wednesday.
Michael Anthony Brown, 22, of Salisbury was arrested and charged with four counts of felony assault on law enforcement with a firearm.
On Tuesday, Rockwell police and Rowan County sheriff’s deputies had just completed a search for a suspect in a string of residential break-ins around Highway 52, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. They located and arrested a 17-year-old male, whose identity was not released because he is a juvenile.
Just after the teen’s arrest, someone in a red Honda on Gold Knob Road fired a 9mm pistol at deputies who were near Upper Palmer Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The suspect, later identified as Brown, fired five to six rounds, the release said.
Brown fled, but Rockwell firefighters who saw the shooting followed his vehicle before losing sight of it near Sides Road, the release said.
A deputy spotted the Honda on Sides Road and stopped it. Brown was taken into custody without incident, according to the release. He was wearing an empty leather pistol holster and told deputies he was simply shooting into the ground and not at officers on the scene, the release said.
Two firearms were located in Brown’s vehicle along with numerous empty and live rounds strewn, the release said.
His bond is set at $250,000.
No deputies were injured, and the Sheriff’s Office does not know whether Brown knew the teen suspect, sheriff’s spokesman Maj. John Sifford told The Charlotte Observer in an email.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 3:31 PM.
