State trooper shoots, kills man in North Carolina floodwaters
LUMBERTON, North Carolina - A state trooper shot and killed a man during a confrontation amid floodwaters in hart-hit Lumberton, North Carolina officials said Tuesday.
Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Gordon said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon that the man was armed during the confrontation, but provided few other details.
Gordon said a trooper was riding with two Robeson County deputies on a Humvee through about four feet of flood waters around 8 p.m. Monday when they confronted an angry man who had a gun.
Gordon didn’t say why the man was angry and released few other details about the shooting. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating. The names and races of the trooper and the man killed have not been released.
Gov. Pat McCrory said earlier in the day he had few details about what led to the shooting, only adding it happened in “very difficult circumstances.”
The state is reeling after Hurricane Matthew soaked it and others in the southeast in torrential rains. At least 14 people have been killed by the storm’s effects, and thousands more stranded and left without power. Lumberton has been particularly hard hit, with the Lumber River expected to crest Tuesday. Once that happens, it’ll take at least another week to drain the city.