NC ‘active shooter’ rumors spread online after suspect jumps from car at Walmart

A suspect who jumped and ran during an N.C. Highway Patrol traffic stop in Chatham County caused a stir Monday after rumors about an “active shooter” spread on social media.

The Siler City Police Department said the suspect who “was possibly armed” ran from his car near the Walmart on U.S. 64 in Siler City, prompting the store and the shopping center to go on lockdown for about an hour.

The suspect never entered the store, and the lockdown was lifted by mid-morning, police said. No one was shot, they said.

Chatham County Sheriff’s officials said the suspect fled into the woods near the shopping center.

The incident happened Monday as Chatham County’s 911 Center was moving into a new building and the county’s computer-aided dispatch system was offline. The relocation and routine maintenance kept the system down for about 1.5 hours, forcing 911 staff to take down information from calls by hand, said Mike Reitz, director of the Chatham County Emergency Communications department.

The system was back online by 10:30 a.m., Reitz said.

The News & Observer has reached out to the Highway Patrol for more information.

The incident occurred roughly 24 hours after police discovered another active shooter call in Georgia was a hoax, according to online reports.

The story will be updated.