man toy gun deputies killed

LUMBERTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man was shot and killed during a standoff with officers from a tactical team after he lit a fire in his vehicle and pointed a weapon at the officers, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it responded late Saturday night to a 911 hang-up call in Pembroke. After the initial hang up, a dispatcher then reached the caller again, and the person stated, “I’m just going to bleed out,” before apparently hanging up again.

Deputies who arrived at the scene came into contact with 46-year-old Matthew Oxendine, who was driving down the street. The news release said that Oxendine backed into a driveway and then set a fire in the vehicle while he was still inside of it.

Deputies tried to get Oxendine to come out of the vehicle so he could receive medical attention for the injuries that he mentioned during the 911 call. Authorities say that Oxendine made threats about harming law enforcement, said he had a weapon and had served prison time before for shooting at law enforcement previously.

Deputies then determined that Oxendine had served a three-year prison sentence for assaulting a law enforcement officer in 2009, the news release said. Prison records list Oxendine’s race as American Indian.

A tactical team arrived and also attempted to get Oxendine to leave the vehicle as they observed smoke and fire inside of it. The news release said that as the SWAT officers approached the vehicle, Oxendine pointed what appeared to be a firearm in their direction.

Oxendine was then shot by one or more officers, according to the news release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending a State Bureau of Investigation probe that’s part of normal procedure.

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Photo via Facebook/Greg Oxendine.

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