RICHMOND COUNTY, N.C. — A Richmond County man is facing charges after he allegedly shot a firefighter responding to an emergency in Ellerbe early Monday morning, deputies said.

The Ellerbe Fire Department responded to a fire alarm along Green Lake Road early Monday, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they were met with gunfire, deputies say.

Richmond County deputies were called to the area around 4:30 a.m. and arrested the suspect, Timothy Lee Hayden. Hayden was charged with two counts of assault on emergency personnel with a firearm and one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury. According to an arrest warrant, Hayden used an AR-15-style rifle to shoot at the first responders.

The fi

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