STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — An armed man was killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers in Stanly County early Thursday morning, deputies say.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol identified the man as 22-year-old Ghassan Radwan Baba of Albermarle.

It happened at about 1:45 a.m. when a member of the North Carolina Highway Patrol got a call about a car stuck in a ditch off North Carolina Highway 73 at Lowell Road, according to the Highway Patrol. 

The state trooper called for backup from the Stanly County Sheriff's Office when he saw the man had a gun his waistband, the department said.

"At some point, he began firing shots at the trooper and deputy. Both trooper and deputy returned fire," according to the Stanly County Sheriff's Office. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deputy and trooper were not hurt. 

The Stanly County Sheriff's Office says the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave. Trooper Micheal McCormick is also on leave, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol. McCormick has been a state trooper for four years, the department said. 

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, which is standard protocol in police shootings.  

This marks the 11th officer shooting in 67 days in North Carolina, according to Spectrum News 1's tracking of shootings involving law enforcement officers since Jan. 1.