Rocky Mount police responding to a late-night shooting found a man they believed to be high who had broken into a dance studio, fired a gun into a neighboring business and in the process accidentally shot himself in the leg.
Officers overheard several gunshots coming from the parking lot of a strip mall anchored by Ollie’s Bargain Store around 10:39 p.m. Saturday, the Rocky Mount Police Department said in a news release.
They found Jonathan Branch, 24, with a wound from a gunshot grazing his knee. He “appeared to be under the influence of narcotics” and couldn’t tell officers what happened, the police report said.
Investigators determined that he’d broken into a dance studio and fired a gun into the nail salon next door. He accidentally hit his own leg with one of the shots, police said.
Dance Arts did not immediately respond to a call or email Sunday, but Pi Nails was open and operating as normal.
Branch was treated at a hospital and has been charged with discharging a firearm in city limits, damaging property and misdemeanor breaking and entering.