Highway Patrol: Kidnapping suspect who shot at trooper will be charged with attempted murder

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Officials say a State Highway Patrol trooper shot an armed kidnapping suspect on Tuesday after being shot at on the side of an interstate.

The Highway Patrol says at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, the Highway Patrol was told of multiple hit-and-run traffic crashes between McDowell and Burke counties, as well as a related armed kidnapping on I-40 eastbound near mile marker 114.

The suspect has been identified as 45-year-old Keisha Brown, of Villa Rica, Georgia.

Troopers say a report said the suspect, Brown, was in the bed of the kidnapped victim’s truck traveling on the interstate.

Sergeant Aaron Johnson found the truck that had pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. WITN is told Johnson saw Brown in the bed of the truck and that she shot at him before he returned fire and shot her.

The Highway Patrol says that once the scene was secured, authorities began life-saving procedures until emergency responders arrived and brought Brown from the scene. She is listed in stable condition and as of Wednesday afternoon, is still in a medical facility.

Johnson, a 19-year veteran stationed in Burke County, was not injured, and has been placed on administrative duty, which is agency protocol in any trooper-involved shooting.

The State Bureau of Investigation will oversee the investigation into the trooper-involved shooting while the Highway Patrol will continue to investigate the suspect’s actions.

The Highway Patrol says once she is released from the medical facility, Brown will be served with warrants for first-degree kidnapping and first-degree attempted murder.

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