Trista Danielle Hughes
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been edited since first published to correct a reporting error.
PEACHTREE – A deputy sheriff checking on the welfare of a child shot and wounded a woman after she pointed a gun at him, officials said.
Trista Danielle Hughes, 41, is being held without bond at the Cherokee County Detention Center and faces a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. Her next court appearance is June 29.
Two deputies whose names were withheld were responding to a child welfare request from a non-custodial parent who was concerned that Hughes had been drinking and was armed, according to 911 records.
The deputies were dispatched at 4:21 p.m. and at 4:48 p.m., the first to arrive encountered Hughes driving a Toyota Tacoma and spinning her tires at the end of her driveway – Wild Wolf Run off Ferguson Road in the Peachtree community. Seconds later, shots were fired.
Law officers, still dealing with the shooting death of Detention Officer Francisco Flattes during an escape attempt nearly a year earlier, swarmed to the scene to help.
Law enforcement alleges that Hughes pointed a Glock handgun at a deputy, who responded with multiple shots, including one that hit Hughes in her chest.
Sheriff Chris Wood said Hughes continued to resist even as emergency responders tried to tend to her gunshot wound.
She was taken by helicopter to Erlanger Baroness Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., where she attempted to escape before being arrested by Chattanooga police, Wood said.
In addition to Tennessee authorities being involved, Wood thanked Murphy Police, Cherokee Tribal Police, Peachtree Fire and Rescue, Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services and 911 dispatchers, the N.C. SBI and the staff of the 43rd Prosecutorial District as well as his own deputies.
"This was not the outcome anyone wanted," Wood said at a news conference at the sheriff's office headquarters in Murphy late Thursday night, but the incident serves as a reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face every day, and "may encounter situations that change the lives of everyone involved," he said.
Wood said he was grateful his deputy was unhurt and that there was no loss of life.