NC Man Accused of Firing Gun at Firefighters
By Lavendrick Smith
Source The Charlotte Observer
July 12 -- An Alexander County man is accused of shooting at a group of volunteer firefighters who were responding to a call earlier this week.
Crew from the Bethlehem Volunteer Fire department were investigating a grass fire Tuesday outside a home in Taylorsville, about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte, when they heard a loud pop, according to a release from the Alexander County Sheriff's Office.
A man had fired a gun toward them from across the street, officials said. A firefighter ordered the man to go inside his home and then called law enforcement for assistance.
Deputies responded to the scene and arrested the man, identified as 54-year-old Michael Douglas Porter. Officials took a pistol from the scene.
Porter was charged with felony assault with deadly weapon on emergency personnel. An additional charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill was added later, according to the Statesville Record & Landmark.
Porter's fiancee told Observer news partner WBTV that he had been in an argument with a neighbor about the fire and was not aiming the gun at the firefighters but toward the ground.
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