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LAUREL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A soldier wearing military-issued ballistic gear opened fire inside a North Carolina home and was wounded by return gunfire before he left and was injured in a car crash, according to authorities.
U.S. Army E-4 Specialist Eric Jerrod Davis was in critical condition at a hospital, news outlets reported Wednesday. Davis is accused of shooting at someone with a shotgun on Sunday morning inside the home in Laurel Hill, officials said.
"Several innocent bystanders were present at the time, and one innocent bystander returned fire, shooting Davis," the Scotland County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. It is not clear if anyone else was injured.
Davis left the home in his own vehicle, and then was involved in a single-car crash soon after, deputies said.
"Davis was transported for medical treatment and reportedly remains in a critical state and highly unstable," the sheriff's office stated. "Davis's long term medical situation is unknown at this time."
The active duty soldier is charged with attempted first-degree murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling, both of which are felonies. He will be taken into custody if he is released from the hospital, officials said.
Davis was living at Fort Bragg at the time of the incident, according to deputies. The sheriff's office is working with Army officials and Fort Bragg police in the investigation.
It was not immediately known if Davis had a lawyer who could comment for him.
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