An argument about drugs ended with an Edgecombe County man being shot in the abdomen Saturday night, the Edgecombe County Sheriff said.

Spencer Earl Horne, 38, allegedly shot William Jones, 26, with a .32-caliber pistol at 7:15 p.m. while arguing with him in the middle of the street at 714 Otter Creek Road in Macclesfield, Sheriff James Knight said.

Jones' injury is not believed to be life-threatening, but he was taken to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville after the incident, Knight said.

"They were standing out in the road allegedly arguing about drugs," Knight said, adding that the suspected drug involved was crack cocaine. "There was quite a few people around."

Horne is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, Knight said. Horne was still being interviewed by the sheriff's department at presstime, so the magistrate had not yet set his bail.

Horne is from Wilson County and has been convicted multiple times in the past six years for driving while intoxicated.

Deputies had not recovered any drugs from the suspects as of presstime, but Knight said the investigation is ongoing.

It is unclear why the men were standing in the middle of the road while they argued, he said.

Jones lives in a trailer park about three miles away from where the incident occurred, Knight said.

Officials at the hospital could not release the condition of Jones, or even confirm his presence at the hospital. Patients who sign a form under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act can choose to keep a hospital from releasing any information about them.