By Ashley Silver
Police1
LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. — As a suspect struggled with police on the side of a North Carolina road, officers got back up from an unsuspected source – a passerby who fired shots at the suspect in an effort to save the deputies.
“This person was getting the best of the two officers that were on the scene at the time,” Lenoir County Sheriff Ronnie Ingram told WITN News.
The sheriff said the man was “large” in stature and was violently resisting arrest, knocking off the Lenoir County deputies’ body-worn cameras in the process. The passerby witnessed the commotion while driving through the area and fired shots at the suspect believing the officers were in danger.
Ingram told the news outlet this wasn’t the first time they’d come in contact with the suspect.
“We’ve had some dealings with this person in the past, he’s made some verbal threats before in the past and today it just escalated,” he told WITN.
The deputies had minor bruises from the scuffle but will be fine according to the sheriff.
The unidentified suspect was transported to a local hospital. There are currently no additional details about his condition.
Ingram told WITN he will be facing charges for his assault on the Lenoir County deputies.
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