By Shavonne Potts
shavonne.potts@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — A Charlotte man who says he was kidnapped at gunpoint and driven to Rowan County received minor injuries while running away from gunfire, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office

The 56-year-old victim told the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office he’d gotten into a fight Tuesday night with a man outside of the Queens Mini Mart on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. He reportedly was held at gunpoint by two men who ushered him into a newer model silver Chevrolet Impala that was driven by a woman, said Capt. John Sifford.

The man said he believed he was kidnapped in retaliation for the fight that occurred outside the convenience store. The victim was ordered into the back seat while the trio contemplated out loud whether to toss the victim into Lake Norman. They asked him if he could swim, according to a statement the man gave investigators.

The victim was driven to the 300 block of Old Linn Road, which is in the China Grove area, and forced to get out of the car so the men could shoot him. They told him to head into the woods; he refused. The victim told authorities the suspects threatened to shoot him in the foot and ordered him to stick one foot out.

The victim told investigators he took off running and felt a bullet graze his back and ankle. Investigators said there was evidence at the scene that a shooting occurred, including gun shell casings and bullet projectiles.

The trio left the victim. He ran through the woods and approached a home where he asked for help from the owner, the sheriff’s office said. The owner called 911.

Rowan investigators contacted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, which sent officers to meet them at Concord Mills Mall and took the victim back to Charlotte before obtaining a statement.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office at 704-216-8700 or Rowan-Salisbury Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.