Crime & Courts

Woman injured in shooting at a Waffle House, NC police say. Suspect arrested.

A woman was hospitalized after being shot during an altercation in the parking lot of this Hickory Waffle House on Sunday, police said.
A woman was hospitalized after being shot during an altercation in the parking lot of this Hickory Waffle House on Sunday, police said. Street View image from August 2024. © 2025 Google

A woman was shot during an altercation at a Waffle House in Hickory this week, police said, and a suspect was arrested soon after leaving the scene.

Police found 35-year-old Hickory resident Jessica Marie Benge with a non-life threatening gunshot wound in the parking lot of the Waffle House in the 1200 block of U.S. 321 NW around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, police said Tuesday on social media.

Benge was shot during an altercation with the suspect, 29-year-old Megan Gail Shook of Conover, and others, police said. Benge was treated at a local hospital, police said.

Alexander County sheriff’s deputies found Shook and arrested her. She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, police said.

Shook is free pending further court action, jail records show.

Police aren’t saying what they believe prompted the altercation.

Police urged anyone with information about the shooting to contact police Investigator Tammie Johnson at tjohnson@hickorync.gov or the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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