N.C. officer shot, dragged during traffic stop struggle
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Authorities say a police officer in North Carolina is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds after a traffic stop led to a struggle with a motorist.
Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rountree said 27-year-old Officer Nicholas Wayne Powell was shot around 2 a.m. Monday after he and another officer tried to investigate the smell of marijuana from a stopped car.
Rountree said the two officers ordered three men from the vehicle, but one tried to get back in and drive away.
The police chief said Powell reached for the car's door and was dragged about a quarter-mile. Rountree says the suspect then got out and grappled with Powell before shooting the officer several times and himself once.
Police later identified the suspected shooter as 26-year-old Gary Giovon Lynn of Raleigh, reports CBS affiliate WFMY. Lynn is reportedly a convicted felon and has faced previous charges of weapons violations and robbery.
The wounds are not believed to be life-threatening and both Lynn and Officer Powell were reportedly being treated at a local hospital. The suspect hadn't yet been charged.
According to police, the officer did have a body camera on during the struggle, but officials do not plan to release the footage during the investigation, according to the station.