Sheriff’s deputy placed on leave after fatally shooting North Carolina father of 10

A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a father of 10 while he was conducting a search warrant Wednesday morning, cops said.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said the officer has been placed on administrative leave after the shooting.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Wooten said a deputy from his department shot Andrew Brown Jr. while serving the warrant with the assistance of another nearby sheriff’s office at about 8:30 a.m.

Brown, 40, was earlier identified by his family as the victim, news outlet WAVY reports. Police have not released the name of the deputy.

Authorities provided scant details of the shooting, saying only that an active investigation was underway.

Reports said Brown was in his car, trying to drive away. Neighbors reported hearing at least six shots being fired but authorities declined to confirm that number.

The scene at the shooting was described as tense, as officers put up crime tape and a crowd formed. Brown’s body was covered by a blue outdoor tent, where it remained for at least four hours after the shooting.

There are reports that Brown was a resident in the house pertinent to the search warrant, but it’s unclear if he was a person of interest.

Brown’s family claimed he was not known to carry a gun.

Wooten said his officers are equipped with body cameras and that “they were active.” He called Wednesday a “tragic day” for the county and promised “accurate answers and not fast answers” as investigators gathered facts in the matter.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation. District Attorney Andrew Womble said an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation would be thorough and “not be a rush to judgment.”

Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP, called for an independent investigation into the shooting.

“When is it going to stop? We just got a verdict yesterday,” Rivers said in a phone interview with the Associated Press, as he referenced the guilty verdicts in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

“Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We have to start holding the people in charge accountable.”

Wednesday’s shooting came on the heels of another cop-involved shooting in Ohio as Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon was identified as the cop who fatally shot 16-year-old Ma’khia Bryant on Tuesday. He, too, has been placed on administrative leave, officials said at a news conference.

With News Wire Services