OXFORD, NC (WTVD) — A standoff that began Friday night and stretched into Saturday morning between a barricaded Oxford man and law enforcement officers ended when the shooting suspect was found dead, Oxford police said Saturday afternoon
A police officer and a K-9 were shot and several police vehicles sustained gunshot damage before the ordeal was over. The suspect, who the commissioner identified as Jason Newton, promised he would not be taken alive.
A police officer was shot Friday evening around 6:20 pm in Oxford, Police Chief Pat Ford told ABC11. body Daniel Allen was the officer who was shot, Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent told ABC11 Saturday morning. She described him as “stable.”
Allen, a five-year veteran of the force, was injured when he responded to a disturbance call on Prospect Avenue. When Allen got there and was getting out of his vehicle, he was met with a “rapid succession of shots,” Oxford police said Saturday. A second officer arrived and was also shot, but was not injured.
During the incident, Newton continued to shoot at police vehicles, hitting them numerous times. K-9 Halligan was shot multiple times while inside a vehicle.
Newton then barricaded himself inside the residence and refused any attempts to communicate, police said.
The confrontation at the house continued until the early hours of the morning.
It ended when specialist units from the Durham County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh Police Department determined Newton was inside the home dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The home where the confrontation occurred is near Granville Medical Center on Highway 15 in Oxford. A hospital spokesman confirmed the facility was closed Friday evening.
A nearby resident told ABC11 they received a security alert that Oxford police were on the scene of an active shooter incident near Prospect Avenue and Delacroix Street. Residents were advised to shelter in place and close doors and windows.
Valerie Fields told ABC11 she has lived across the street from Newton for 10 years.
“The 10 years I’ve been there, he’s always been a good neighbor. I don’t know what happened,” Fields said. “He was growing fruits and vegetables in the backyard, and he was always bringing us stuff, and I don’t know what happened. I just don’t know.”
Fields saw her neighbor moments before police say she shot an officer. She asked him if he was okay.
“Today, I don’t know what’s going on with him, and he got away. He said the police are coming, I’ve got enough rounds in here to take this whole block out. As soon as the police pulled up, he started spraying everything the block. shot in the box and we just had to get down,” Fields described.
He tried to run away from the shot but fell.
“Every time I would get up to run, it would start firing again, so I would lay back down,” Fields said.
Fields finally made it to safety.
“You always see things like this on TV. I never in a million years would have thought something like this would happen,” he said.
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Staff at Southern Snow Company, an ice cream shop next door, told ABC11 they heard gunshots.
“It was pretty scary,” said one worker.
Customers said they heard the shooter constantly loading and unloading as the incident continued.
The ice cream parlor closed as soon as it started, and workers and customers remained locked inside the store.
Neighbors told ABC11 that several residents had complained that Newton was acting erratically and then broke a window. When the two police officers arrived, that’s when the shooting started.
Sergent told ABC11 that city officials were staying “out of the fray to let our officers work without additional distractions.”
“We have faith in our first responders that they will be able to get the situation under control and we pray for no additional injuries,” said Sgt. “We ask that all concerned keep those who are responding in their thoughts and pray for a speedy and peaceful resolution.”
The Granville County Sheriff’s Office posted an update on his Facebook page Saturday afternoon thanking all the first timers who took part in Friday night’s showdown.
“First and foremost, I and the rest of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office would like to send our prayers to the injured officer, his family and his colleagues at the Oxford Police Department,” said Sheriff Granville County, Robert Fountain. “Incidents like this show the special character it takes to be a law enforcement officer. We wish the injured officer a speedy recovery and thank him for his bravery.”
The State Bureau of Investigation, the Granville County Sheriff’s Office, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, the Henderson Police Department, the Wake Forest Police, Raleigh Police Department, Highway Patrol, ALE Emergency Management, Oxford Fire Department and EMS responded. attend.
