Protesters Gather After Shooting of Black Man by North Carolina Deputy

A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a black man as he attempted to flee in his car during the execution of a search warrant. The local sheriff said deputies wore body cams and requested an independent investigation into the shooting.

Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Sheriff Tommy Wooten confirmed one of his deputies shot and killed a man identified as Andrew Brown, Jr. during the execution of a search warrant. The sheriff said his deputies wore body cameras and they were working at the time. He plans to release the video as soon as he can.

Posters on Twitter described Andrew Brown, Jr. as a 40-year-old father of ten.

One protester yelled at police, “If you are that scared, you should not be wearing a badge.”

Family members report Brown was inside his vehicle at the time of the shooting, WTKR reported. They said he lived nearby.

The shooting took place in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, located south of Norfolk, Virginia.

One Twitter user compared the shooting of Brown to that of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just ten days ago.

Local officials called for a city council meeting to attempt to discern the facts of the case.

During the press conference, posted by 13 News Now, Sheriff Wooten laid out only a few facts of the shooting incident. The sheriff said the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was contacted to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting. He pledged transparency in the investigation process.

Special Agent in Charge Masha Rogers from the NC State Bureau of Investigations confirmed her investigators arrived on the scene early on and began an investigation into the shooting.

Officials did not disclose any details about the shooting or the warrant being executed.

Protesters quickly gathered near the scene of the fatal shooting.

 

Elizabeth City police officers were not involved in the search warrant or the shooting.

The shooting in North Carolina comes less than a day after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The jury found Chauvin guilty of two counts of murder and a manslaughter charge.