Police in North Carolina shot and killed a man who opened fire on law enforcement outside the Buncombe County courthouse on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as Shane Tilman Kent, a 29-year-old man from Asheville.
Kent fired shots shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning at an officer. He was armed with a 9 mm handgun and was driving a Chevrolet SUV, of which he was not the registered owner, according to WLOS.
Law enforcement officers, including a veteran police officer who was shot in the arm, confronted and killed Kent after he opened fire from inside his parked SUV.
Deputy Lt. Dale Den Ouden, a 26-year veteran of the force, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was later released after receiving treatment, Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said. No bystanders or courthouse employees were wounded in the incident, Miller said.
Dozens of deputies and police officers were called to the area while the courthouse was on lockdown. Witnesses described hearing several gunshots and authorities urged people to avoid the area.
Witness Drew Reisinger was in his office just down the street at the time of the incident. He shared a series of Twitter posts and videos showing a number of officers running toward the scene.
“All of a sudden we see blue lights flashing,” he told The Associated Press. “And I probably could have counted up to 50 cop cars coming in with all the urgency of a dire situation.”
Reisinger told the outlet that downtown, it is often busy and he sometimes sees and hears police sirens.
“This was different,” he said. “We got a phone call from officials saying ‘Lock down your doors. This isn’t a drill. Bullets are being fired. Stay away from your windows.'”
Kent had a previous criminal record but none of them appear to have been for violent crimes.
State prison records show that he had been convicted of felony breaking and entering in 2014, The Associated Press reported.
Miller said that the motive for the shooting is not clear at this point. He said authorities believe the shooting was random and that there is no further threat to the public.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
