Chris Mintz, from a small North Carolina town named Randleman, is being hailed as a hero after being shot multiple times during a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon yesterday in which at least nine people were killed. Witnesses said Mintz, who worked and was a part-time student at the school, stopped the shooter at the door of his classroom and tried to talk him out of it before being shot. Reports have differed on how many times Mintz was shot. His family said he was shot seven times and has two broken legs, but is expected to fully recover. 

Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in North Carolina yesterday as residents wait to see which path Hurricane Joaquin will take and prepare for heavy rains in any case. Joaquin was categorized to a Category 4 storm yesterday afternoon. The storm is expected to bring anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain to the state, which has been inundated with rain over the last week already. Rain is already falling in Charlotte from a large unrelated storm system that's covering the upper east coast. McCrory spoke of the possibility of deadly flooding during his press conference. 

NoDa Brewing Co. celebrated the grand opening of its new location on North Tryon Street last night, with large crowds showing up despite chilly temperatures and a light rain. The Tin Kitchen and OooWee BBQ food trucks were on hand to feed the crowd while Charlotte Radiology representatives held a silent auction benefitting the Levine Cancer Institute and Project Pink. The new, much larger brewery is located at the corner of North Tryon Street and Atando Avenue. 

Officials with the Charlotte Area Transit System released video from the crash involving one of their buses that took the life of a local preschool teacher. Investigators said the brakes went out on Melanie Myers' truck, sending her into an intersection at 3rd and McDowell streets where she was struck and killed by a CATS bus. The video shows passengers in the bus thrown about during impact, and after the crash some crawl out of windows, others move to help the bus driver who was stuck, and another grabs a fire extinguisher to try to put out a fire in Myers' truck.