Ranger – Road rage may have been the motivation for a shooting at the Hot Spot convenience store and gas station Saturday.
Law enforcement was dispatched to the intersection of U.S. 19/129 and U.S. 64/74 at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday in response to a physical disturbance with shots fired, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
“Upon arrival, officers found one male subject suffering from a gunshot wound and a second male subject who had obvious physical injuries from a physical altercation,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
All four involved in the incident were from Georgia, Sheriff Chris Wood said.
The gunshot victim was flown by helicopter to Gainesville, Ga., while the other man was transported by Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree
The investigation is ongoing. The sheriff’s office said there is no continued threat to the community.
Wood said road rage is the likely cause of the altercation. He planned a meeting for Tuesday to determine further action.
The incident started in the Hardscrabble Road area of Mineral Bluff, Ga., between two male motorcyclists – a 74-year-old man from Rome, Ga., and a 64-year-old man from Dallas, Ga. – and a father and son in an SUV from Hiawassee, Ga., Wood said.
A confrontation at the convenience store parking lot led to the son being shot once with a 9mm round, Wood said. The gunshot victim looked to be in his 40s. He was listed in stable condition.
One of the bikers, the 63-year-old man from Dallas, Ga., was beaten with fists and taken to Erlanger, Wood said. His companion was uninjured.