Update: Kannapolis Police have obtained a murder warrant in a shooting on Snow Street Monday afternoon, sources say. Police are searching for 19-year-old Darius Jamal Smotherson, believed to be one of three suspects involved in the shooting death of Daniel Lee Cooper. Cooper, 17, of Florida Avenue, died of his injuries while at Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast.
Police are continuing the investigation and had no other information this morning.
By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS — Police are searching for three people believed to be involved in a shooting that left a Kannapolis man seriously injured.
Officers on the scene Monday evening said the man had been shot in the neck while in his car on Snow Street. Paramedics found the man several streets away on nearby West 22nd Street about 3:10 p.m.
He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast, said Capt. Pat Patty.
Police are not releasing the name of the victim, pending family notification.
Investigators roped off areas of both streets with yellow crime tape about 3:45 p.m. while officers processed the crime scenes.
Detectives removed evidence from a white Honda Prelude, which was parked in a driveway on West 22nd Street. It wasn’t immediately clear Monday if the driver had any relation to the home’s owner.
While officers spoke to witnesses around the 300 block of West 22nd Street, another set of detectives used a K-9 unit to search the area around Snow Street.
Investigators also spoke to neighbors in the area and used a metal detector to search a patch of woods near the 400 block of Snow Street.
All three suspects are believed to be men in their mid- to early 20s and about 6-foot tall and between 130 to 150 pounds, according to a Kannapolis Police report.
The first suspect was wearing a baggy red T-shirt, with a black design and dark jeans. He also had corn rows that “did not extend below his neck,” the report said.
The second man was wearing a white T-shirt with a design on it, and was bald with a goatee.
A description was not available for the third suspect.
The Kannapolis Police Felony Investigation Unit is continuing to work on the investigation.
A reward is available for anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspects in the case, a press release said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Kannapolis Police at 704-920-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 704-932-7463.