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A Wadesboro man was shot in the chest Monday afternoon outside an apartment building in Hamlet, according to police.

The shooting occurred at 3:50 p.m., in a yard on the 500 block of Henderson Street.

Deshawn Kelly, 19, is the man accused of pulling the trigger, police said, and was picked up at a residence at the Housing Authority of Cheraw, S.C., on Dizzy Gillespie Drive.

Cheraw Police Chief Jay Brooks said the Hamlet Police Department called the Cheraw Police Department with information that Kelly would be at that location.

Hamlet Police Captain Scott Waters said they learned of Kelly’s location after interviewing his mother.

Kelly was taken in for questioning as well as approximately three witnesses, Brooks said.

He was interviewed by both the Hamlet Police Department and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. “They are trying to find out why it happened,” Brooks said Monday evening.

Brooks said part of the interview included talking to Kelly about whether he will consent to being extradited back to North Carolina. If Kelly agrees to extradition, he will immediately be put into the custody of the Hamlet Police Department, according to Brooks. If Kelly does not cooperate, he will become a fugitive of North Carolina and a judge would have to agree to extradite him.

Capt. Waters said the victim was shot with a pistol. The pistol was not found at the scene of the shooting when police arrived, according to Waters. The victim was flown to the hospital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and arrived in critical condition, a hospital spokesperson said. At about 7:30 p.m. Monday, the spokesperson said the victim was still being treated. No other information was released about the man.

Police said they could not confirm if Kelly and the victim knew each other.

Hamlet Police Chief Amery Griffin said Monday evening that reports about an earlier argument on Sunday leading to the shooting are rumors, and that the cause is unknown.

— Staff Writer Laura Edington can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at ledington@civitasmedia.com.