Hinesville police are investigating the early-morning Saturday shooting of a Hinesville woman.

Hinesville Police Department Chief of Detectives Maj. Thomas Cribbs said the victim, Kimya Spates, 18, was at El Rancho restaurant in the 1000 block of West Oglethorpe Highway around 2 a.m. with friends when she spotted a woman she knew, Erica Johnson, 18, also of Hinesville.   

Cribbs said an argument between the two women started inside the restaurant and spilled out into the parking lot where Johnson allegedly produced a small hand gun and fired once at Spates. Spates, according to Cribbs, was struck in the stomach.

Spates was taken to Liberty Regional Medical Center by her friends and later transported to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah by the Life Star helicopter. Cribbs said Spates is in stable condition.

The case is still under investigation and warrants are pending.