Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty
Police responded to an officer-involved shooting at a country club in Kings Mountain, N.C. on Saturday night. Authorities say officer Frank Lee Whittington Jr. was shot after responding to a call of a suspicious person at a house on Downing Drive around 8 p.m. No word on what led up to the shooting.
Kings Mountain Police Chief Lisa Proctor confirmed Whittington had undergone surgery and was recovering. She said the 13-year veteran of the force was expected to survive his injuries. The unidentified suspect involved was also shot and is being treated for their injuries.
“We are very thankful (Whittingham) is still alive and that we’re not planning funeral number three in the last week and a half for another law enforcement officer,” Proctor said.
Whittington is the fourth police officer to be shot in the line of duty in the last eight days. Concord Police officer Jason Shuping, 25, and Mount Holly Police officer Tyler Herndon, 25, were killed in separate incidents less than a week apart.
Herndon was laid to rest two days after what would’ve been his 26th birthday. “I’m a better man because of Tyler Herndon, the Mt. Holly Police Department is better because of Tyler Herndon. We’re a better community,” Mount Holly Police Chief, Don Roper said at the funeral last Tuesday.
Funeral plans for Shuping were announced yesterday. A public service will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at Cabarrus Arena and Events Center located at 4751 NC Highway 49 North, Concord, NC 28025. Shuping will be laid to rest with full honors following the service at Shiloh Reformed Church of Faith Cemetery in Faith, N.C.
