A man was shot by police on Wednesday night after shooting his wife and another man, authorities said.  The shooting happened about 10 p.m. in the Gateway Plaza parking lot near Barnes & Noble in Hickory.

Paul Vang, 47, of Conover had already shot Xao Vue in the head and shot his wife, Sandy Vang, as an officer arrived responding to the 911 call, Capt. Thurman Whisnant said.  She was shot at least twice in the lower portion of her body before Hickory Police Officer Jonathan Barnes returned fire and shot Vang.

“(Paul Vang) was the aggressor throughout the incident,” Whisnant said.

Whisnant said the shooting is a domestic dispute, though police are still not certain how the conflict started or whether there was a relationship between Vue and Sandy Vang.  

“That’s one issue that crosses all ethnic and racial barriers,” he said.

He said investigators are interviewing relatives in hopes of determining a motive.  They do know that Paul and Sandy Vang lived together in a home off Old Conover Startown Road while Vue lived off Emmanuel Church Road, also in Conover.

Sandy Vang, 37, was transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center and later airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where she is listed in critical condition.

Vue, 27, was taken to Frye Regional Medical Center and was later transferred to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.  He is in critical condition.

Vang, the suspect in the shooting, was transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, almost immediately upon arrival, Whisnant said.

Whisnant said the Hickory Police Department is working to combat domestic violence through a grant received from the N.C. Crime Patrol and Public Safety Commission. The grant provided funds for two investigators specialized to investigate domestic violence and adult sexual assault cases for two years.

The investigators increase awareness of domestic violence and work with people “at-risk” to help address conflicts before it escalates to a violent situation.

He said the Hickory Police Department responded to 987 domestic calls in 2007 and 259 between Jan.1 and April 19 this year.  That’s an average of about 82 calls per month in 2007 and 74 calls a month in 2008.

The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting its own investigation, as is procedure when a police officer is involved in a shooting.

Barnes is on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.  He has been with the Hickory Police Department for 2 1/2 years.