Two Mint Hill police officers are now recovering at home. This comes after they were both shot in the head during a sudden and violent confrontation. The incident happened last Friday outside a cheerful Edible Arrangements store. The scene was supposed to be about a simple child custody hand-off. It turned into a shootout.
Officers were called to the shopping plaza on Matthews-Mint Hill Road just before 6 p.m. They were there to keep the peace during a scheduled custody exchange. But the situation exploded in seconds. A man involved in the exchange, 36-year-old Tjamel Ali Hamlin II, suddenly pulled out a gun. He opened fire on the officers.
Both officers were struck above the neck. Despite their wounds, they were able to return fire. The gunfire echoed across the busy parking lot, sending shoppers and employees scrambling for safety. The quick response from the wounded officers and arriving backup ended the threat at the scene.
Hamlin was pronounced dead outside the store. Police later recovered a gun from the area. The two officers, whose names have not been publicly released, were rushed to the hospital. For a time, their conditions were a major concern for the tight-knit police department and community.
In an update that brought a wave of relief, Mint Hill police announced this week that both officers have been released from the hospital. They are now at home with their families, focusing on their recovery. The department expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of community support and the work of first responders.
The investigation into exactly how and why the custody meeting turned deadly is now in the hands of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. This is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. Local police are also continuing their own probe, piecing together the events that led to the violence.
The Edible Arrangements store, a place typically associated with celebration, now bears the marks of a tragedy. The community of Mint Hill is left grappling with a frightening reality: that a routine call for service, one meant to prevent conflict, can erupt into life-changing violence in an instant. The focus now remains on the long road to recovery for the two officers who walked into a quiet Friday evening and walked out wounded.
