| December 11, 2007 |
| |
| Burke County Investigator Shot
during Standoff |
| |
| On December 11, 2007, at
approximately 8:40 pm, Martin Lawing, 31, an investigator with the Burke
County Sheriff's Office, was shot in the neck while attempting to make
contact with a female subject barricaded in her mobile home. |
| |
| Officers were at the
residence attempting to serve an involuntary commitment order on the female.
Officers initially attempted to serve the involuntary commitment at 5:48
pm. |
| |
| The suspect, Eva Joyce
Nelson, 60, of Suburban Drive off Enola Road, refused to cooperate with
officers attempting to serve the papers. The Burke County Sheriff's Office SWAT
team was then called to the scene. |
| |
| SWAT members attempted
to make contact with the suspect by throwing a telephone into her home through
a window. This is when the suspect started shooting, and Investigator Lawing
was injured. |
| |
| Officers were
unsuccessful in getting the phone into the residence. During the standoff,
officers fired tear gas into Nelson's home in an attempt to get her to come out
of the residence. |
| |
| Around 7:00 am, the SWAT
team backed their armored vehicle up to a window in Nelson's residence. She
then came out of the residence and surrendered. |
| |
| Sheriff McDevitt and
another officer transported Lawing to Grace Hospital before he was airlifted to
Carolinas Medical Center. Lawing was talking when he arrived at CMC, but he had
lost a lot of blood. |
| |
| Lawing had surgery
during the night and is in critical, but stable condition. Additional surgeries
are possible. |
| |
| The NC State Bureau of
Investigation is assisting the Burke County Sheriff's Office with the
investigation into the incident. |
| |
| ********************************************************************* |
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