According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, three North Carolina officers were shot on Monday morning when they were attempting to present some paperwork.
When the sheriff’s officers came to the residence in Dudley to serve the involuntary commitment papers, the suspect opened fire, resulting in a standoff that lasted for many hours. The shooting happened at about 10:30 in the morning.
At a press conference, the authorities said that the deceased suspect, named Jourdan Hamilton, had been discovered inside the residence with an“apparent fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound.” After a nearly nine-hour standoff, members of the SWAT team eventually entered the residence where the corpse was recovered.
Within the house, Hamilton had ensconced himself in a defensive position. Only he was there inside the building.
On Monday night, Joel Gillie, who is the public information officer for Wayne County, said that Sgt. Matthew Fishman was in serious condition. However, Deputy Alexander Ramon Torres and Cpl. Andrew Cox’s conditions were reported to be stable.
“Nobody expects to go into work and be shot at, but this is what our men and women do on a daily basis. It’s unfortunate that this one turned out this way,” Gillie said.
A reporter asked Gillie regarding any communication that had happened between law enforcement and the suspect.
“I can’t release much of that, we did have SWAT teams on scene that were attempting to make contact with the individual,” he said. “And so, you know, we had reason to believe that he was still inside at the time, that’s why we were out here as long as we were, and then once we had information that suggested otherwise is when they decided to approach the home a little bit closer.”
Gillie would not disclose the identity of the individual who initiated the involuntary commitment order. According to North Carolina Department of Public Safety documents obtained by Fox 8, Hamilton was found guilty of resisting an officer in 2019 and conveying threats in 2021, both of which resulted in him receiving misdemeanor convictions.
