Durham police said officers executed a search warrant Wednesday with assistance from the FBI's Internet Crimes Against Children division. Residents reported a loud bang shortly before 10 a.m. and said the blast shook the apartment complex; smoke was seen coming from the targeted unit after officers entered.
The warrant focused on the top-right apartment of 806A in the 800 block of the complex, according to ABC11 News. The outlet reported that officers took about seven minutes to enter and found a man inside. FBI agents escorted him out in handcuffs. Authorities then spent about an hour collecting evidence and patting him down; witnesses told ABC11 that devices were also seized from the apartment.
Neighbor Describes Shaking Walls and a Scrambling Child
Katie Jawroski, who lives across the hall, told ABC11 the blast shook her apartment and knocked pictures from a wall. She said she had previously felt uneasy around the neighbor.
The reported blast does not establish what device, if any, officers used. A previously cited background page on flash-bang effects does not verify what happened during this operation.
Durham Police Withhold Suspect's Identity and Charges
Durham police have not released information about the suspect or what led authorities to the apartment, and officials have not provided additional details about the broader investigation. ABC11 News reports it plans to provide updates as more information becomes available.
Durham Police Department policy says its Selective Enforcement Team may handle high-risk search warrants that exceed routine patrol capabilities, according to Durham Police Department policy documentation. Wednesday's operation came just days after Durham police executed another high-risk search warrant at Moore Place on September 25, resulting in eight arrests and the seizure of 14 firearms, including automatic weapons — a raid detailed in earlier Hoodline coverage.
What Department Policy Says About High-Risk Warrants
The Durham Police Department's January 2021 General Orders Manual says its Selective Enforcement Team is trained for tactical building entries and searches and for serving high-risk search and arrest warrants. The manual does not establish whether SET or any particular device was used in Wednesday's operation, according to the Durham Police Department.
Part of a Statewide Surge in Digital Exploitation Cases
Wednesday's warrant fits into a broader pattern of intensifying investigations into online child exploitation across North Carolina. Reports of online child exploitation in the state surged 1,115% between 2019 and 2026, according to State Bureau of Investigation data reported by WRAL.
Nationally, the scale of these investigations has grown sharply as well. The 61 regional task forces under the federal Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program conducted nearly 347,000 investigations and made more than 17,000 arrests in 2025. Just days before the Durham warrant, the FBI announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a five-day nationwide operation across all 55 field offices that resulted in 205 child sex abuse arrests and the rescue of 115 children.
Durham police have not released the suspect's identity or the reason for the search.
