RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina state trooper searching for people trapped by flood waters in hard-hit Lumberton shot and killed an angry man who confronted officers while holding a gun, authorities said Tuesday.
The trooper and two Robeson County deputies were driving through about 4 feet of water when they found the man on a road within a few hundred feet of Interstate 95 around 8 p.m. Monday, the State Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
The man “became hostile toward the officers and displayed a handgun” before he was killed, Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Gordon said in a statement that gave no other details.
The officers were in a Humvee and the shooting happened in “very difficult circumstances,” Gov. Pat McCrory said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
“Tension can be high when people are going through very, very emotional circumstances,” the governor said, adding he had little additional information.
Authorities did not release the names or the races of the trooper and the man killed.
The Highway Patrol said the trooper is a sergeant and has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice after a police shooting.
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