Davidson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Thomasville man for shooting another man in the stomach during an altercation stemming from a child custody dispute.

Michael Shawn Hepler, 27, of 356 Chapel Drive, is charged with one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and one count of felony discharging a weapon into an occupied property following a shooting Sunday night on the 300 block of Chapel Drive in the Pilot community.

According to a DCSO press release, deputies responded to the shooting at approximately 8:30 p.m. and discovered that Kiel McKenzie had been shot once in the abdominal area. McKenzie was transported by a private vehicle to Thomasville Medical Center for treatment and was later transferred to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

“An argument developed from a domestic dispute,” Sheriff David Grice said. “The dispute turned physical and there was a scramble for a gun. [Hepler] has been charged with intentionally shooting, but we’re still investigating. We don’t have the exact cause or all the particulars on it just yet. This certainly was a result of a fight.”

During the course of the investigation, deputies and detectives found that the victim was shot during an altercation with Hepler over a child custody dispute. Further investigation revealed that Hepler also fired two other shots into a vehicle carrying two occupants that was leaving the scene following the shooting. Grice said McKenzie’s wounds were serious but considered non-life threatening. No one else was injured during the shooting.

“This may have resulted from a situation revolving around a child custody, girlfriend kind of thing,” said Grice. “The vehicle was fleeing the scene when [Hepler] shot at it. Our investigation is still evolving.”

Hepler was placed in the Davidson County Jail and issued a $5,000 secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 16.

Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 888-3578, or duke@tvilletimes.com.