VStock/Thinkstock(LUMBERTON, N.C.) — A man was fatally shot by a highway patrol sergeant after he “became hostile” and “displayed a handgun” during a high water rescue in North Carolina, officials said. The man was one of 35 people who died in connection to Hurricane Matthew.
The shooting happened at approximately 8:08 p.m. Monday in Lumberton, North Carolina.
A State Highway patrol sergeant was conducting search and rescue operations with two members of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office when the man “became hostile towards the officers and displayed a handgun,” the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said.
After the sergeant saw the gun, he shot the man, who died from his injuries, the Department of Public Safety said.
The man’s identity was not immediately known.
“I am proud that our first responders were in the community rendering aid to our citizens,” Colonel Bill Grey, commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, said in a statement. “While we are saddened by any loss of life, I am thankful that our member and the Robeson County Sheriffs’ deputies were not injured.”
The sergeant was identified as J. F. Hinson, a 13-year veteran. He is on “administrative leave pending an internal investigation,” the Department of Public Safety said.
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting.
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