A North Carolina man wasn’t supposed to fight back when another man pulled a gun on him.
But Charles Edward Parker, 38, didn’t feel like being a victim that day. He said he actually wrestled the gun from his assailant and shot him in the leg.
The accused aggressor, Ever Enciso Castaneda, 25, was arrested and faces charges of misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun and misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, theHickory Record reported.
Tables Turned: Armed Would Be Assailant Suddenly Becomes Disarmed Would Be Assailant
Ever Enciso Castaneda (WSOC-TV)
Oddly enough, Parker said he had just met Castaneda for the first time earlier that day at a local Jack in the Box. The two started talking and then decided to walk to a nearby gas station to some beer, Investigator Dustin Nowatka with the Hickory Police Department said.
They bought the beer and then headed back to Castaneda’s home. That’s when Parker said he got a bad feeling about the entire situation and decided to bail. Then things turned serious.
“I hate to have to do this to you,” Castaneda reportedly said as he pulled a gun on Parker.
The would-be victim said he jumped into action, wrestling the gun away from his assailant. Parker said he fired a warning shot at the ground, but that didn’t deter the previously armed stranger.
So Parker put a round in Castaneda’s leg.
Police were quickly called to the scene by neighbors who saw the fight and heard the shots. When law enforcement officials arrived, they found Parker holding the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun they said Castaneda had planned to use on him.
Tables Turned: Armed Would Be Assailant Suddenly Becomes Disarmed Would Be Assailant
Ever Enciso Castaneda, 25, has “38″ tattooed on his chin. He was shot with a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson (WSOC-TV)
Castaneda was taken to a hospital where he told investigators that he was shot by a man in his neighborhood. He refused to tell them anything else. The hospital released Castaneda on Monday and police arrested him Wednesday morning. He posted a $500 secured bond.
Parker’s story was quickly verified by police after they reviewed surveillance footage of the area. The 38-year-old North Carolina man was not charged in the incident.
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.