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Victim's names, arrest records released in cop shootout 
08:36 PM EST on Friday, February 3, 2006
Penny Huskey and Joseph Henson were shot and killed Thursday. 
HUNTERSVILLE -- Huntersville police identified the two suspects shot and killed by officers Thursday in a shootout at a local shopping center.
Joseph Lynn Henson from Charlotte and Penny Sue Huskey from Catawba County were involved in a shootout with police at the Rosedale Commons Shopping Center in Huntersville Thursday.
Henson died at the scene and Huskey died late Thursday night at Presbyterian Hospital.
It all started when the driver of a truck pullover over on I-77 to help the driver of van with a flat tire. The truck driver noticed that the driver seems to be intoxicated and had a gun.
The truck driver then followed the van and called 911 to report the suspicious vehicle.
The van exited I-77 at Gilead Road in Huntersville around 1:50 p.m. and a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper attempted the stop the vehicle.
The van stopped in the Rosedale Shopping Center in Huntersville off Gilead Road. Huntersville police in the area quickly assisted the trooper in surrounding the van.
Dozens of people were just yards away, as police moved in.
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Two people, who were in the van pictured, were shot by police. One died on the scene.
Witnesses said many shoppers jumped to store windows and hurried to the front of stores to watch the scene unfold.
"We were telling these individuals to get out on the ground," said Captain Michael Kee of the Huntsville Police.
The male driver, identified by police as Henson, got out of the van first, while his female passenger, identified by police as Huskey, stayed inside the van.
"We saw the standoff. A couple of cops with guns drawn and some guy mouthing off," said one witness.
Other witnesses said Henson was asked several times to "get down" by police, but refused.
Investigators said Huskey jumped out of the van with a rifle and shot first. Henson grabbed a 9 millimeter and fired at the officers, police said.
Officers then fired shots that struck and killed Henson. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Huskey was initially treated at Presbyterian Hospital-Huntersville and then was transported to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte were she died shortly before midnight.
The hectic and dangerous scene attracted numerous eyewitnesses like Chad Carpenter.
"Cops drew their weapons and opened fire," Carpenter said.
Fifty shell casings peppered the parking lot but no bystanders were shot.
One stray bullet hit a Blockbuster video store and smashed a window. An employee inside was hit by shattered glass.
The shootout happened in front of a Batteries Plus store and an employee ran out the back door when he saw the suspects grab their guns.
Police said a customer in a coffee shop was a few feet away from flying bullets but wasn't hit.
Witnesses reported the suspects appeared drunk or on drugs. Police said a call on the van initially came in as a potentially drunk driver. Toxicology tests are part of the state's investigation.
Friday Huntersville police were concerned with the well-being of the officers who were involved in the incident.
"What we're doing right now, first and foremost, is the officers involved in this, the trooper as well as our folks were involved in a very traumatic event. We're going to take care of these people, obviously. Last night we had one of our police chaplains here that came out in the debriefing which is something we do that is standard procedure after an event like this. Fortunately we don’t have events like this too often," Kee said Friday.
Five officers involved in the shootout went to Greensboro to consult with a psychologist Friday. That's standard procedure in a traumatic incident like this one. The officers involved will also be placed on administrative leave, according to the highway patrol, until the state can complete an investigation of the shooting which is also standard procedure in an officer involved shooting.
Friday many people living in the Huntersville area wanted to know how something like this could happen in their town but police said with the dramatic rise in the amount of residents, the crime rate is sure to rise as well.
"Well, fortunately things like this don't happen all that often. We are very close to a large city though. So we are seeing an increase in crime being our close proximity to a large metropolitan area," said Kee.
Video from the scene showed a rifle lying on the ground next to the suspect's vehicle. Officers said they found more weapons inside the van.
Police said they do not know what motivated the suspects to engage them in a shootout.
6NEWS reporter Nicole Konkal provided information used in this report.
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