A CMPD officer shot a robbery suspect on Sunday night after the suspect pulled a gun on the responding officers.
CHARLOTTE -- A Charlotte-Mecklenburg County police officer shot a robbery suspect on Sunday night after the suspect tried to run away from the scene and pulled a gun on the responding officers.
Bobby Dinkins, 52, is listed in critical but stable condition at Carolinas Medical Center, according to a CMPD news release.
Police say Dinkins went into the Dollar Tree store on South Boulevard while two female employees were working.
"He tied both of them up with duct tape, and one of them managed to get loose and call 911, and [the police] got here and got him before he got away,” explained Shayla Brown, the acting manager of the Dollar Tree.
Bobby Dinkins
The first officer on the scene, Matthew Relic with the Steele Creek Division, caught up with Dinkins in the parking lot. That’s when police say Dinkins drew a gun on Officer Relic and the officer shot him.
"We did respond to a 911 call for service referencing an armed robbery in the store,” said CMPD spokeswoman Julie Hill. “The officer did confront the suspect outside in the parking lot and shots were fired."
About 100 yards across the street at Edwin Watts Golf Shop, an alarm went off around the same time as the altercation. It could be because one of the bullets hit a store window. No one inside was hurt though, and the cracked window was the only damage done to the store.
Dinkins, according to police reports, has a long criminal record that dates back to 1992.
Dinkins has been charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon on a government officer, possession of a firearm by a felon, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Relic is now on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues. He is a nine-year veteran of the police force. It is standard procedure for any officer involved in a shooting to be placed on administrative leave.
Homicide detectives are conducting the criminal investigation while a private investigation is also underway to make sure Relic followed all departmental policies.