A 42-year-old man, Miguel Angel Ramirez, is under arrest after firing shots at both EMS and firefighters who were responding to a report that he was possibly unconscious in a car on the side of a road.

According to Rowan County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Captain Mark McDaniel, 911 received a report about 11:46 a.m. that a man appeared to be unconscious in a vehicle on the side of N.C. Hwy. 152 at Shinn Farm Road. When EMS and firefighters arrived, they realized that the man might be impaired and called for assistance from law enforcement, but before officers could arrive, the man pulled out a gun and began shooting at the EMS staff and firefighters.

The shooter, Ramirez, then jumped into a fire squad truck and drove off, heading east on 152 back toward China Grove. In his efforts to get away, he slammed into the back of another vehicle before veering off and plowing through a soybean field just beyond Unity Church Road. He came to a stop on the grass just before getting back on the road and N.C. State Highway Patrol officers were able to take him into custody without further issue. They then turned him over to Rowan County deputies for processing.

McDaniel said charges are expected though it is not yet known what those charges will include. He added that investigators have recovered the gun that Ramirez threw out of the window of the fire truck while driving up the highway.

One EMS member did suffer minor injuries when she fell trying to get to safety when the shots were fired, but McDaniel said she is expected to be fine. Ramirez also sustained minor injuries when he crashed into another vehicle. No one was hit by any of the gunfire and there were no other injuries reported.

Ramirez was charged with two counts of assault on firefighter/specified medical personnel with a firearm (felony), felony larceny (motor vehicle), possession of a stolen firearm and driving while impaired. He was held without bond at the Rowan County Detention Center.

A couple who live just beside where the scene unfolded said they heard the boom when Ramirez struck the car before driving through the soybean field, and the wife said she saw the truck come to rest. Because she saw it was a fire truck, she started to approach to see if anyone needed help, “but then the state trooper came up and the guy put his hands in the air, and I thought ‘oh my word, I’m so glad I didn’t get closer.'”

Her husband said they both wondered why in the world a fire truck would drive through the field, but when they realized the man had stolen the truck, they understood, though they were still shocked. Their son called after seeing a Facebook post about the incident just to be sure they were OK.