North Carolina police officer on paid leave after shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina police officer was placed on paid administrative leave after a shootout on Sunday left a robbery suspect wounded, officials said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Officer Samantha Thompson, an eight-year veteran, was placed on leave, while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations looks into the incident.

Officers were called to a convenience store Sunday where they found 34-year-old Jemario Bernard Baldwin, a robbery suspect, according to a police press release.

Police said Baldwin shot at the officers and one of them returned fire. No officers were wounded in the shooting.

Baldwin fled the scene but later crashed into a utility pole, police said. When officers found Baldwin, they realized he had been shot.

Baldwin was hospitalized and charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer. It's unclear whether he had an attorney who would comment on his behalf.