One person dead following shooting incident at tobacco shop in North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — An 18-year-old was arrested Wednesday after police said he fired shots at a vehicle following a verbal altercation at a Monroe tobacco shop.

Authorities reported the incident occurred around 8:12 a.m. at City Discount Tobacco and Vape on Walkup Avenue. According to police, a verbal dispute inside the store escalated when one individual retrieved a handgun and chased two others outside, firing shots into their vehicle as they drove away. No injuries were reported in the initial shooting.

Officers from the patrol division, criminal investigations unit, and Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Unit worked to identify the shooter as Uteak Chambers and obtain arrest warrants.

Later that day, ACE Unit members attempted to serve the warrant at a Cotton Street location. Chambers fled on foot but was tracked by a police dog to a briar patch, where he was found hiding. He was treated at Atrium Health for minor injuries from the dog bite before being taken into custody at the Union County Detention Center on a $5,000 secured bond.

Chambers faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, and discharging a firearm inside city limits. The investigation remains ongoing.