A 36-year-old man was found dead inside his home along N.C. Highway 43 North after deputies say he pointed a rifle at them during a larceny investigation, triggering an hours-long standoff between Rocky Mount and Pinetops. Edgecombe County Sheriff's deputies had gone to the property in the 10000 block to investigate a reported larceny when the confrontation began, and a deputy fired at the man after he aimed the weapon at officers.
According to WRAL, the man was waiting outside the home when deputies arrived, then returned inside while still armed with the rifle. Deputies took cover outside the house as the situation escalated. Edgecombe County Sheriff Cleveland “Clee” Atkinson Jr. said the Special Response Team arrived roughly an hour later, entered the house, and found the man dead inside.
Sky 5 footage showed shattered glass in the home's front door, a mobile command center staged around the property, and at least eight law enforcement vehicles surrounding the scene, the station's report noted. The sheriff's office has not released the names of the man or the deputies involved.
Sheriff Describes a Routine Call That Turned Volatile
“They showed up for one thing and encountered an unknown situation,” Atkinson said, describing how a property-crime call turned into an armed standoff, per the same account. He called the shooting an isolated occurrence and said he is praying for everyone involved.
Gavin Burdick, reacting to the incident, said simply that it was a sad situation, according to the station's coverage. The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office, which Atkinson has led since his election in 2018, employs more than 100 total staff members, including over 50 certified law enforcement officers, patrolling a jurisdiction that spans 526 square miles, according to the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office. Atkinson also currently serves as President of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association for the 2026–2027 term.
The department maintains a Special Response Team trained for high-risk tactical operations, including resolving barricaded suspect situations and executing narcotics search warrants, the sheriff's office has said. Edgecombe County itself is a largely rural stretch of eastern North Carolina, with an estimated population of about 49,100 residents and a population density under 100 people per square mile, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — a setting where rural call responses often require deputies to hold a perimeter while specialized tactical units are summoned.
State Investigators Will Review the Deputy's Use of Force
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the deputy's use of his weapon, a step the sheriff's office has described as standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. Under state law, the SBI does not have automatic jurisdiction over local officer-involved shootings; it opens an independent inquiry only when formally requested by a sheriff, police chief, or district attorney, per the North Carolina General Assembly.
That review will apply the state's legal standard for deadly force. Under North Carolina General Statute § 15A-401(d)(2), an officer is justified in using deadly force only when he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against what is reasonably perceived as an imminent threat of deadly force. Separately, state law under § 15A-401(f) bars individuals from using a deadly weapon to resist arrest, regardless of whether the underlying arrest is later found to be lawful.
Data compiled by the State Bureau of Investigation through mid-July showed the agency had already opened 28 independent investigations into officer-involved shootings across North Carolina so far this year, with Buncombe and Guilford counties leading the state at three cases each. The man's official cause of death — whether from the deputy's gunfire or another cause — has not been released, and the initial report that first brought deputies to the home has not been detailed publicly.
