BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. (AP) -- An Avery County, N.C. man was captured Thursday evening after killing one sheriff’s deputy and wounding another, a federal law enforcement official said.
“They have him in custody,” North Carolina FBI spokeswoman Joanne Morley said.
More than 100 officers had been searching woods off Old Beech Mountain Road after the suspect, identified by the sheriff’s department as Elijah Puckett, fled a house where he had barricaded himself earlier in the afternoon.
The department identified the deceased deputy as Glenn Hicks. No further details about Hicks were available.
The wounded deputy, identified as Ralph Coffey, was airlifted to Johnson City (Tenn.) Medical Center, arriving there about 4 p.m. Hospital spokesman Ed Herbert said Coffey was in stable condition with unspecified injuries.
Puckett was being held at the Wautaga County Jail in Boone. Exact charges were not immediately available.
A statement by Avery County Manager Robert Wiseman said the deputies were shot “while conducting routine business” around 3:15 p.m. Thursday. District Attorney Jerry Wilson told the Asheville Citizen-Times the deputies were trying to serve a warrant.
Local, state and federal law enforcement officers participated in the search for the suspect, which included a N.C. Highway Patrol helicopter.