A routine traffic stop turned violent on a stretch of highway in Winston-Salem early Monday. Police say two men were shot, including a police officer.
Chief Barry Rountree says officers pulled over a car for speeding on US 421 just before 2 a.m. Three men in the car were on the roadside being questioned when one of them got back in the car and tried to drive way.
Rountree says the shooting started when Officer Nicholas Powell tried to stop the fleeing suspect and ended up being dragged a short distance.
“Once the vehicle was stopped, Officer Powell and the suspect continued to struggle," he says. "At some point during the struggle, the suspect produced a weapon and Officer Powell was shot multiple times.”
The suspect, 26-year-old Gary Lynn of Raleigh, was also shot, apparently by his own gun. Rountree says no police officers fired their weapons.
None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
Lynn was charged with attempted first-degree murder, fleeing and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The SBI is joining the police department in the investigation.