ECU North Recreational Complex: 1 Killed in Officer-Involved Shooting

A concerned family member called police to say their loved one was armed and was threatening to hurt himself.
Published: January 21, 2025

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Police say a man was killed Monday in an officer-involved shooting outside the Eastern Carolina University (ECU) North Recreational Complex.

A concerned family member called police around 4:30 p.m. to report a loved one was armed with a gun and threatening to harm himself, Reflector reports. ECU Police first encountered the armed man on campus. Approximately 10 officers with the Greenville Police Department (GPD), including members of its Emergency Response Team, responded around 5:15 p.m. after ECU officers confirmed the man had a gun.

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During the encounter, the man reportedly raised the gun at the officers, prompting a GPD officer to fire his service weapon. The man died at the scene. His identity has not been released but Greenville Police Deputy Chief Richard Tyndall described him as a middle-aged white man. ECU Police Deputy Chief Chris Sutton said investigators do not believe the man had any connections to the school.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting and the involved officer has been placed on administrative leave, according to WNCT.

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ECU Didn’t Issue Alert to Students, Staff

Witness Leo Brown said he was playing frisbee golf at the recreational center when he saw the man, WITN reports.

“We were real close to him, we were like 10 feet, 15 feet away from him. I said hey to him, he didn’t respond, he just shook his head and then we kept continuing playing,” Brown described. “One cop came to us, he was like, ‘Y’all need to back up this guy’s armed, he’s dangerous,’ and we were in shock because we were real, real close to him. We backed up and after a few minutes they started talking to him. The guy wasn’t cooperating and I think they shot him.”

Brown said he was about 100 to 150 away from the scene when he heard two gunshots.

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Sutton said an ECU Alert was not sent to the campus community because there was no ongoing threat to the public and because the recreational complex is not near ECU’s Main Campus or Health Sciences Campus. The complex is about 10 miles away from the main campus, according to the school’s website.

Sutton said the complex, which is open to ECU students and the public, would typically be open for business around the time the incident occurred but that the cold weather and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday may have impacted normal operations.

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