A North Carolina police officer was recovering Saturday night after being shot while on duty, becoming the fourth officer shot in the Charlotte area in a little more than a week, according to reports.
Cpl. Frank Lee Whittington Jr., a 14-year veteran of the Kings Mountain Police Department, underwent surgery and was expected to be OK, Kings Mountain police Chief Lisa Proctor said, according to WCNC-TV in Charlotte.
Whittington was shot while responding to a report of a suspicious person on the back porch of a house. Proctor said she didn’t have details about the shooting.
“We are very thankful that he is still alive and that we’re not planning funeral number three in the last week and a half for another law enforcement officer,” she said.
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The shooting suspect was also hospitalized, WSOC-TV in Charlotte reported.
Cpl. Frank Lee Whittington Jr., a 14-year veteran of the Kings Mountain Police Department, underwent surgery Saturday night and was expected to be OK.
(Kings Mountain Police Department)
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Previously, Officer Jason Shuping of the Concord Police Department was fatally shot Wednesday while trying to arrest a carjacking suspect. Officer Kaleb Robinson was wounded and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
On Dec. 11, Officer Tyler Herndon of the Mount Holly Police Department was shot and killed while responding to a break-in at a car wash. He died two days before his 26th birthday.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is taking over the Whittington case.
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“It’s insane,” Proctor said, according to WCNC. “This is insane, what law enforcement is having to put up with and deal with now, more than ever, it’s kind of hard to talk about. Because no one, and I mean no one, knows what it costs to put one of these badges on every morning knowing that as soon as you go out that front door you’re an instant target.”