- A sheriff’s deputy was shot after responding to a vehicle theft in Sampson County.
- The deputy, Caitlin Emanuel, broke a bone in her leg from the scuffle but is expected to recover.
- 36-year-old Michael Walthall Jr. of Pennsylvania has been taken into custody.
After a sheriff’s officer in Sampson County was shot overnight; a guy has been taken into custody. Around two in the morning on Saturday, the officer was responding to a car theft on Hayne Stretch Road; west of Roseboro when he was shot, according to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office.
The deputy, Caitlin Emanuel, allegedly made a call for assistance immediately after speaking with the suspects; according to the agency. When a second deputy arrived, he found that Emanuel had been shot in the leg.
The suspect seized hold of Emanuel’s handgun after a scuffl; the sheriff informed the reporters, and Emanuel was then shot.
Emanuel is having surgery at WakeMed after being transported there. She was hurt during the altercation; but she is expected to heal despite breaking a bone in her leg.
On Sir Lane, one suspect, Pennsylvanian Michael Walthall Jr., age 36, was apprehended. Walthall is thought to have been residing with locals.
An earlier investigation into a potential second suspect was suspended.
Around 7 a.m., the scene was still pretty busy. The focus of the inquiry appeared to be a red SUV at the side of the road. Later, the sheriff verified that the SUV is the allegedly stolen car.
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The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton Police; NC State Bureau of Investigation, Sampson County emergency services; and NC State Highway Patrol also responded.
At the intersection of Hayne Stretch Road and Butner Island Road, there were detectives waiting outside a restaurant.
Sheriff Jimmy Thornton of Sampson County pleaded with the public to remember Emanuel in their prayers. This is the first time a deputy has been shot in Thornton’s more than 20 years as sheriff; according to him. It had been around two years when Emanuel joined SCSO.
“We received a complaint about a stolen car, and of course she came and spotted the car; “explained Thornton. “Soon after, a person approached her to start interrogating; and doing everything else, and as he put a grip around her neck; her weapon went off.
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