RALEIGH, N.C. — A deputy with the Wake County Sheriff's Office died after being shot late Thursday night, authorities confirm. A search for the suspected shooter continued as of midday Friday.
Sheriff Gerald Baker said Deputy Ned Byrd died after being shot multiple times. Byrd had been with the department for 13 years and was a member of the K9 unit.
“He’s a very dedicated and committed deputy sheriff. Loves serving and protecting this county,” Baker said. “He was always in a good mood, good spirit because he enjoys what he does. That’s always refreshing.”
The shooting happened at about 11 p.m. on Battle Bridge Road, near Auburn-Knightdale Road southeast of Raleigh, the sheriff's office said.
Baker said there was a series of calls Thursday night in the area where the deputy was found shot.
“We are working on trying to develop some concrete leads to who is responsible but following one of those calls, he had the occasion to come down this road, and we believe he may have come into contact with someone and got out of his car to check on that situation, suspicious activity,” the sheriff said.
"The dog was still inside the vehicle which tells me, tells us, that what he got out and apparently to him at that time didn’t appear to be any sort of a threat," he said, adding that Byrd did not call for backup before he was shot.
"There’s reason to believe that following one of the calls he responded to that he was somewhere in this area typing his notes on the computer and that is common for our patrol officers. Once they clear a call they put their notes in right then and there if they have the time," Baker said.
He said investigators are not sure how long it was between when Byrd was shot and when deputies found him. He said they are using video from Byrd's car to try to figure out what happened.
Shortly after 5 a.m., the sheriff's office posted a message on its Facebook page saying a deputy had been fatally shot.
“Breaks my heart to have to report that a member of this office was fatally wounded sometime after about 11 o’clock last night in the line of duty. Obviously we have an investigation to find out who’s responsible for our loss and loss to this county, and we will find who is responsible for this loss,” Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said during a news conference early Friday morning.
Gov. Roy Cooper commented on Twitter about the shooting, saying in part, "I have talked with Sheriff Baker and the state is providing resources to help capture those responsible."
The area has been closed off while authorities investigate. We are working to get more details on what led to the shooting.
The Wake County deputy is the seventh North Carolina law enforcement officer shot in roughly three weeks. It is also the second incident in which a deputy has died.
Hundreds of officers gathered from around the state Tuesday in Mount Olive for the funeral of Wayne County Sgt. Matthew Fishman.
Fishman was shot on Aug. 1 while serving involuntary commitment papers and died a day later. Two other deputies were also shot during the incident and are recovering.
“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. Four other North Carolina deputies have been shot doing their jobs in the last three weeks alone, but are thankfully still alive," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement Friday.
“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.