Boy, 14, shot by man looking for him at Carowinds theme park

FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) — A 14-year-old boy was shot and wounded in the parking lot of a theme park by a man who drove to the park to attack the teen, authorities said.

The shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. Monday in a bus drop-off and pickup area of the Carowinds theme park as it was closing, said Trent Faris, a spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Department. The park is located on the North Carolina-South Carolina state line.

Brock Bewley-Goodridge, 22, was taken into custody Tuesday at his Charlotte, North Carolina, home, Faris said in a news release. The statement didn’t provide any charges against Bewley-Goodridge and Faris didn’t immediate return a message.

The suspect fired several shots at the teen, hitting him twice in the abdomen before driving off, according to a police report released Tuesday.

The teen was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was no word on his condition but a statement from Charlotte Medic called the injuries life-threatening. His name has not been released.

Bewley-Goodridge told someone at a nearby gas station he was about to drive to the parking lot and hurt the teen, the report said. The report noted that two girls were fighting near the teen when he was shot. Faris said Bewley-Goodridge was upset about an argument between teens earlier.

“We view this as an isolated incident,” Faris had said Monday night. “I can tell you we believe it stemmed from an earlier argument that happened inside the park.”

There was no immediate word on how many people were nearby as the park was closing, though Faris said, “By the time we arrived, it was fairly calm.”

Carowinds spokeswoman Laresa Thompson said the park is cooperating with the sheriff’s office and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in North Carolina.

The park was closed Tuesday and is now operating on weekends only under its regular fall schedule.

It wasn’t known if Bewley-Goodridge had a lawyer.