Man dies from shooting in Asheboro parking lot

ASHEBORO — A 23-year-old man died at the scene of an Asheboro shooting during the weekend.

Alexander Benitez-Hernandez suffered from a gunshot wound to the upper-chest area, according to a police report. Asheboro Police officers arriving offered aid until medical personnel arrived, but Benitez-Hernandez didn’t survive.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, police responded to shots fired in a parking lot at 1418 East Dixie Dr.

Police report that a person fled in a red Ford F-250.

That vehicle was located traveling at a high rate of speed on East Salisbury Street. Officers stopped the vehicle, and the driver had suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.

Officers administered aid before the driver was taken to an out-of-county hospital.

Information from Asheboro Police said that Benitez-Hernandez and the unidentified man were involved in an altercation at an Asheboro business and that disagreement escalated in the parking lot. Police said that both men had firearms and shot each other.

No chargers were initially filed. The investigation is continuing as Asheboro Police seek witnesses to the incident.

The weekend shooting marked the second shooting in slightly more than two weeks that drew considerable police attention in Asheboro.

Charges filed in previous shooting

On Aug. 15, officers responded to a late-night shooting in the area of Watkins Street.

In that case, a gunshot victim sustained wounds to his upper arm and neck. Officers located the victim at the intersection of Elm and Salisbury streets, where medical treatment was administered.

The victim, Jaylen Curtis, 21, was transported to an out-of-county medical facility.

Dwayne Emilio Rivera, 22, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious bodily injury, discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, and discharging a firearm in city limits.

The charges stemmed from an investigation by detectives with Asheboro Police. At what was labeled a crime scene on Watkins Street, shell casings were consistent with the multiple bullet holes on the victim’s vehicle.
Police have since reported that Curtis’ condition improved from critical condition and that he’s expected to survive.