(This story has been updated)

SALISBURY — A 10-year-old girl who was shot Tuesday in Salisbury is reportedly in stable condition.

During a press conference, Salisbury Police Chief P.J. Smith said that just before 9 p.m., Salisbury officers responded to a call for shots fired in the area of 15th Street and North Jackson Street.

“Prior to arrival, we heard that a sheriff’s deputy was already in the area and had started a pursuit with a potential suspect vehicle,” Smith said.

Officers found a 10-year-old female victim that had been shot while in her driveway.

“She was transported to the VA Hospital, where she was airlifted to Brenner Children’s Hospital,” Smith said. “She is currently in the ICU in stable condition.”

Before Salisbury’s arrival, a Rowan County deputy had already engaged individuals suspected of involvement in the shooting, resulting in a joint operation between the two agencies.

At the Wednesday press conference, Rowan County Chief Deputy Jason Owens said a deputy was in the area and heard shots fired.

“The deputy heard the shots,” Owens said. “He was trying to investigate where the shots were coming from. This was prior to the 911 call coming in.

According to Owens, a vehicle reportedly came speeding toward him.

“He was jogging down the road on North Jackson Street, and the vehicle was going towards him. As the vehicle approached him, he thought the vehicle was trying to run him over. At the same time, individuals inside the vehicle began firing at him. The deputy duck-dived out of the roadway to keep from getting run over. As the vehicle was going past him, the individuals in the vehicle continued to fire at him.”

Owens said the deputy returned fire at the vehicle.

“The vehicle continued down Jackson Street and wrecked in a yard, into, I believe, a telephone pole,” Owens said. “When the vehicle wrecked, four individuals exited the vehicle and continued to fire.”

Owens said the officer did not return fire because there was a house behind the vehicle, and he did not feel he could safely engage the suspects.

While no arrests have been made yet in the case, Smith said that interviews had led them to persons of interest.

“It is not believed that the victim in this case was the intended target,” Smith said. “It was an altercation that we are investigating that took place in a different location.

“I would not call it a drive-by. She was not the intended target. The altercation stemmed in close proximity to where she was located and being in the location where she was at.”

Smith pleaded for an end to senseless gun violence.

“We have an innocent 10-year-old female victim that got injured that was not part of the violent act who should have started her first day of school today and is unable to because of the senseless violent act of someone else,” Smith said.

In total, 20 shell casings were recovered from the two scenes.

A release sent out on Wednesday before the press conference said, “At this time, there is no indication that anyone was injured in this exchange of gunfire between (the deputy) and the suspects. This is a joint ongoing investigation between the Salisbury Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office.”

The NC State Bureau of Investigation responded due to the officer-involved shooting, however, they declined to investigate the incident any further since no one was hit as a result of the exchange.

The Salisbury Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Rowan County Sheriff’s Office are actively investigating the incident. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Sgt. Hill at 704-638-5333, email investigations@salisburync.gov, or submit a video of the incident anonymously using this link: https://salisburypdnc.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/njacksonstreetshooting.