Fayetteville man arrested after firing at officers during stolen car chase, police say

HOPE MILLS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville man was arrested late Monday after authorities say he fired at officers during a high-speed chase involving a stolen car.

Hope Mills police report that an officer tried to stop a car reported stolen by the Fayetteville Police Department around 11:20 p.m. The driver refused to pull over and sped away.

Officer Tony Tyndal, with support from Officers Thompson and Williams, pursued car to apprehend the driver and recover the car.

During the chase, police say the driver, identified as J'Quan Fitzgerald, 26, of Trust Drive in Fayetteville, shot at officers from inside the car. He later threw the firearm out the window before crashing into an embankment and being taken into custody.

Detectives and officers from the Hope Mills Police Department's Special Operations Division, along with K-9 Xander, found the discarded weapon. Investigators confirmed it had an illegal modification known as a firearm switch, which enables automatic firing.

Fitzgerald was already wanted by the Fayetteville Police Department on charges including two counts of robbery, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, and one count of felony conspiracy.

In Hope Mills, he faces charges of felony fleeing to elude arrest, felony possession of a stolen vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction, felony possession of a firearm by a felon, and driving with a revoked license.

He is being held without bond at the Cumberland County Detention Center. Thankfully, no officers were injured in the incident.