Wilmington Officers Shoot Armed Man on Red Cross Street, SBI Now Investigating

An armed man allegedly opened fire on law enforcement officers near 7th and Red Cross streets in Wilmington last Friday night, leaving him hospitalized with serious injuries and triggering a state investigation into the shooting. Multiple officers discharged their weapons during the encounter and have since been placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation reviews what happened.

According to the Port City Daily, Wilmington Police Department officers, working alongside the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, responded to a report of someone armed in the 700 block of Red Cross Street. Officers located a person matching the description of the suspect, who police say had been reported as aggressive and had pointed a firearm at another person. A Wilmington Police Department news release indicates emergency dispatch logged the initial 911 call at 7:26 p.m. last Friday, reporting an aggressive armed suspect in the area.

Once officers arrived, the man allegedly fired shots at law enforcement, prompting multiple officers to discharge their weapons in response. Police say the officers fired because of an imminent threat and the need to protect nearby citizens. Emergency personnel responded to the scene, and the injured man was transported to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, which serves as the region's primary Level II trauma center for southeastern North Carolina.

SBI to Lead Independent Review

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will lead the officer-involved shooting investigation, which remains ongoing. Per SBI policy, special agents gather physical and testimonial evidence in these cases and submit a final report to the local district attorney without offering a charging recommendation, according to Carolina Public Press. That report will ultimately land with New Hanover County District Attorney Jason Smith, whose office will decide whether any officer conduct warrants charges.

Any use of deadly force will be measured against North Carolina General Statute § 15A-401(d), which permits officers to use deadly physical force only when they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend themselves or others from an imminent threat of deadly force, per the North Carolina General Assembly. Body-worn and dashboard camera footage from the encounter is not considered a public record under state law and can only be released through a Superior Court judge's order, a legal hurdle confirmed by WHQR.

Second Officer-Involved Shooting in Five Months

This is not the first time this year that Wilmington police and New Hanover County deputies have faced SBI scrutiny over a shooting. Five months earlier, on March 8, officers and deputies from both agencies were involved in another SBI-investigated shooting in downtown Wilmington that killed 21-year-old Edilberto Espinoza Sierra, as WHQR reported. That case drew public protests and calls for greater police transparency, according to the same outlet's reporting.

On June 24, District Attorney Smith announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the officers and deputies involved in the March shooting following the SBI's independent review. Smith determined that the seven officers who fired a combined 62 rounds acted reasonably under an imminent threat, per WHQR's account of the decision. It is not yet known whether the Red Cross Street case will follow a similar timeline or outcome.

A Corridor With a Violent Past

Red Cross Street carries its own layered history with law enforcement and gun violence. The corridor once housed the city's primary police headquarters until the department relocated to its Bess Street facility in December 2006, according to Wilmington Police Department historical records. The original building on Red Cross Street had been acquired by the city back in 1962.

The street has also seen deadly gunfire before. In January 2024, a federal judge sentenced a gunman to more than 19 years in prison for an April 2022 daytime shooting near 6th and Red Cross streets outside a funeral home that injured one person, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Investigators in that case recovered more than a dozen shell casings after responding to a ShotSpotter alert.

Gun violence has continued to test Wilmington police resources this week. On Monday, three days after the Red Cross Street shooting, officers launched a separate investigation after a ShotSpotter alert detected gunfire in the 3500 block of Metting Road. Officers located physical evidence of gunfire at that scene but reported no injuries, per Port City Daily's reporting.

The identities of the suspect and the officers involved in the Red Cross Street shooting have not been released, and it remains unclear when the SBI will complete its investigation or whether body camera footage will eventually be released through a court order. The officer-involved shooting investigation remains ongoing.