Friday afternoon a manhunt was still underway for the person responsible for killing a Wake County deputy southeast of Raleigh. Deputy Ned Byrd was found dead overnight. The sheriff’s office said he had been alone except for his K9 partner when he was shot around 11 p.m. Thursday.
Byrd was the seventh law enforcement officer shot, and the second to die from his injuries, in the past three weeks.
“Much of what this profession is is going into the unknown when you step out of that car. When you walk up to serve an item of civil process, be it a domestic violence protective order or eviction, you don’t know what’s on the other side of the door,” Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said.
On Aug. 1, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Matthew Fishman, 38, and two other deputies were shot when they went to a house to serve involuntary commitment papers.
Fishman died of his injuries the next day. Deputy Alexander Torres, 27, and Cpl. Andrew Cox, 37, survived their gunshot wounds.
)
The suspect in the case barricaded himself in the house. He was later found dead in the home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The week before, on July 23, Sampson County Deputy Caitlin Emanuel was shot in the leg during a struggle with a suspected car thief. The sheriff’s office said Emanuel, who had been with the department for two years, survived the shooting.
A 36-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested in the shooting three hours later.
On Aug. 5, a homicide suspect from Charlotte got into a shootout with police at a gas station in Clemmons. A Greensboro police officer, part of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation’s Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, was shot.
"Around 8:12 a.m. there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and law enforcement officers. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene and one law enforcement officer was injured," said Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, which also had deputies in the task force.
Greensboro Police Officer M.J. Ambrosio survived the shooting. The suspect in the case was killed by police.
On Wednesday morning, a Caswell County deputy was shot multiple times as he tried to serve a restraining order on a man. Deputy Aaron Tyndall was shot three times but survived, according to the Caswell County Sheriff's Office.
The suspect in that case surrendered to police after an hours-long standoff.
The SBI is investigating each incident, which is standard procedure when police or deputies are involved in shootings.
“Early this morning, a Wake County Deputy was killed in the line of duty. This comes only 10 days after the murder of Wayne County Deputy Sgt. Matthew Fishman,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said.
“I am profoundly troubled by the recent spate of violence against law enforcement officers. Officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities – we must do everything in our power to keep them safe. I thank the many public-spirited officers who are serving and protecting the people of North Carolina all over the state,” he said.
"Each incident, each occurrence, whether it’s here in Wake County or anywhere in the state or the nation, it causes the need for awareness. We must learn anytime these things happen to make sure to try and prevent them from happening again,” said Baker, the Wake County sheriff.
Police officers and deputies from across North Carolina gathered Tuesday at the University of Mount Olive, near Goldsboro, to lay Fishman to rest.
“Matthew Ryan Fishman was a dependable, loving, giving man,” Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce said Tuesday. “Everyone knew Sgt. Fishman for that big smile and his calming personality.”
“Last Monday Sgt. Fishman proved to everyone that he would not let his people down,” he said. “He paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Fishman left behind a wife and two children, 10 and 14.
The manhunt continues in the killing of the Wake County deputy. Tributes and condolences are pouring in from around Wake County and across North Carolina.
For the second time in a month, law enforcement will gather to mourn a slain deputy.