The incident took place at 409 Butler Island Road in Roseboro at 4:45 p.m. when officials received a call in reference to a man threatening to kill himself.
The armed man would eventually shoot at officers and then barricade himself in a metal building until negotiators managed to lure him out of the building at 8:40 p.m.
Roadways in and around Butler Island Road were closed and homes in the area evacuated until the situation was cleared at 9:15 p.m.
“What happened was a mother had gone to check on the welfare of her son and discovered him sitting in a vehicle with a pipe going from the exhaust into the vehicle,” said Capt. Eric Pope Thursday. “She opened the car door and told him that they were going to call and get him some help. He told her that whoever came to help him, he would kill them and then kill himself.”
Within minutes, a patrol deputy and a detective, who happened to be in the area, responded to the mother’s call. “When they arrived and got out of their vehicles, they heard a gunshot,” Pope explained. “They naturally drew their weapons and made their way back to the residence and met the suspect who was holding a rifle up under his chin.”
Pope said the deputies pleaded with the man several times to put the weapon down.
“When they did it an additional time, he aimed the rifle at the patrol deputy,” said Pope. “The deputy fired once at the suspect and immediately took cover. The shot didn’t strike the suspect and he ran into a metal building and hid.”
Pope said the building was an old barn that was about 18x18 and covered in metal and was filled with storage materials and old furniture.
“The deputies requested assistance and additional officers responded to the scene. Our SERT team (Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team) responded as well, since it was a barricaded subject with a rifle; our trained hostage negotiators were also on the scene, although it was not a hostage situation, they attempted to talk with the subject to convince him to surrender.”
Pope said that by 5:30 p.m., the negotiators had already started communicating with the man, trying to get him to surrender.
“While this was going on our SERT team was getting in positions around the building in the event we had to do an entry to get him,” he said. “We had to maintain perimeter security and had to evacuate the houses that were on either side of this location.”
It wasn’t until 8:40 p.m. that negotiators convinced him to step out of the building.
“There were several deputies that were concealed from view, and one of the deputies was able to shoot the suspect with a taser when he let his guard down with the rifle,” Pope said.
The man, who was not injured after being tased, was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody.
“He was taken into custody under an emergency involuntary commitment and transported to Sampson Regional Medical Center.”
Pope said the suspect received medical attention at the hospital and was now waiting for a mental health evaluation,” Pope said, noting that it could take a couple of days for a bed to become available in a mental facility.
“Facility resources are not available as they used to be, so we have to hold him at the local hospital under guard until a facility is ready to take him,” said Pope. “As soon as they have a facility that has an open bed, then we can take them. If they call from Asheville, we have to take him there. If it is Charlotte, we have to take him to Charlotte. It falls upon the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office to take him wherever there is a place available.”
Depending on those results, charges could follow.
“If he needs to be committed to a mental health facility, there will be no criminal charges filed,” said Pope. “If he is mentally competent, then we will proceed with criminal charges.”
Due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) guidelines, the suspect’s name is being withheld.
Pope said deputies received assistance from the North Carolina Highway Patrol; a License/Theft Bureau officer; Sampson County EMS and Sampson County Emergency Management; Roseboro Fire Department provided the teams with a thermal imaging camera and the Salemburg Fire Department provided the scene with lights.
“It was a combined effort from all these agencies,” said Pope. “We try to identify those that can help us, and we have always worked hand-in-hand. The citizens in this county are very fortunate to have the volunteer organizations that we have. The fund-raising that buys some of that specialized equipment can be used to help in these type of situations. We just appreciate everyone’s assistance.”
To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@myclintonnc.com.
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