A 13-year-old boy was shot dead by a deputy in North Carolina after he allegedly charged toward the officer with a piece of lumber during a pursuit, authorities said on Friday, according to the Associated Press. The teenager had been identified as a suspect in the killing of his grandmother.
The State Bureau of Investigation will review the incident involving the Lee County sheriff’s deputy, a standard procedure in such cases.
The series of events began in Raeford, about 145 kilometers southwest of Raleigh, where 68-year-old Connie Linen was found dead in her home, the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies had initially gone there for a well-being check before discovering she had been killed. No further details about the manner of her death have been released.
Investigators later identified Linen’s grandson as the suspect and filed paperwork charging him with first-degree murder, according to a statement from the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office.
After being alerted about the homicide, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office located the boy behind an abandoned mobile home in the Cameron area. When deputies approached, he fled. During the chase, authorities said, the teenager picked up a two-by-four piece of lumber from a yard and charged toward one of the officers, who then shot him.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a release that the boy was 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall and weighed 150 pounds (68 kilograms).
Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes and the State Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to requests for more information.
“This has been a tragic and emotional situation for everyone involved,” Hoke County Sheriff Roderick Virgil said Friday. “We ask that our community come together with compassion and understanding as we all process this difficult event.”
(With agency inputs)
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