Officials: State trooper shoots suspect during traffic stop

PRINCETON, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Highway Patrol says one of its troopers has shot an armed suspect during a traffic stop.

The patrol said in a news release that a trooper stopped a car on Thursday that was traveling 96 mph in a 55 mph zone on U.S. Highway 70 in Johnston County.

According to the patrol, an altercation ensued with the driver of a Nissan, who was armed with a handgun. The trooper shot the driver. The news release said the unidentified driver was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

The trooper wasn’t injured.

The patrol has asked the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting along with its own separate internal investigation, which is standard in all trooper-involved shootings.