A legally-armed woman who fatally shot an 'aggressor' in a parking lot incident acted in self-defense, according to local authorities
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A legally-armed woman in North Carolina acted in self-defense when she fatally shot a man during a road rage incident at a grocery store parking lot, according to the local district attorney.
"I think what's really important here for people to understand is that provision in our law is not an invitation to vigilante justice, but it does allow when someone has a responsible fear for imminent death or bodily injury that you're allowed to protect yourself," Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told ABC 11.
Steven McLamb, 49, was fatally shot outside a Food Lion located at Raleigh's Greystone Village Shopping Center last Tuesday after 5 p.m. Authorities who reviewed footage of the scene say McLamb was the "aggressor" in the altercation, trying to pry open the woman's car doors before she fired at him.
"Mr. McLamb was the aggressor," Freeman said. "He followed the other individual into the parking lot and upon getting out of his car – approaching her car and attempting to get into her car – she, acting in self-defense, shot and killed him."
Food Lion parking lot at the Greystone Village Shopping Center in North Carolina. (Google Maps)
The altercation began as a road rage incident, according to local media reports. Freeman said law enforcement officers were able to review various footage of the scene and interview witnesses amid the investigation.
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The Raleigh, North Carolina, Police Department (Google Maps )
"We were fortunate to have access to various video. Also there were witnesses in the area that were able to give a pretty clear image as to what happened here," Freeman said.
The woman, who has not been identified, legally owns the firearm and has no prior criminal history, the DA said.
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A woman shoots a handgun. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Under North Carolina law, individuals are permitted "to use force to protect themselves when there is a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily harm," Freeman told The News & Observer.
McLamb was transported to a local hospital following the shooting, where he died from his injuries.
