Man charged for allegedly shooting at vehicle in Hamlet store parking lot

HAMLET — A man is facing several charges after an alleged violent confrontation with a former girlfriend.

According to investigators with the Hamlet Police Department, officers responded to a convenience store earlier this month to a call about a vehicle being shot at.

The victim had reportedly seen an ex-boyfriend, 52-year-old Shawn Garrison, who approached her in the store’s parking lot.

Investigators say the two had a verbal exchange, with Garrison issuing threats before shooting at the tires of her vehicle. The victim was reportedly inside the vehicle at the time.

The entire incident was reportedly captured on surveillance video.

Warrants were soon issued for Garrison’s arrest, but police reportedly had trouble locating him.

Garrison was reportedly spotted at the same convenience store on Thursday, July 25 and fled the scene, with officers scouring the area.

Officers found Garrison’s vehicle and learned that he was working at a home on Durham Street, where they reportedly found him hiding in a shed with a .380-caliber pistol — the same caliber used in the shooting — tucked in his waistband.

Garrison was arrested and charged with: discharging a weapon into an occupied property; discharging a firearm in city limits; injury to personal property; carrying a concealed gun; and communicating threats.

He was booked into the Richmond County Jail where he is being held on a $25,000 secured bond. Garrison is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 15.

Online court records show Garrison also has several pending traffic violations.

Garrison’s most recent conviction in this state was for assault on a female in 2014, according to records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.

He was first convicted in 2008 of possession of drug paraphernalia and the following year of driving while impaired.

Garrison received probation in all three cases.

All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.