Man dead after structure fire leads to officer-involved shooting

The Pinehurst Police Department was involved in an officer-involved shooting that left a man dead on Wednesday.

Officers responded to a home on Remington Lane in Village Acres shortly after 7 a.m. following reports of a suspicious individual but could not locate the individual. During the initial response, officers noticed smoke coming from a residence and requested support from the fire department.

“The Fire Department was quickly dispatched to the location to manage and contain the fire,” said the Village of Pinehurst in a media release. “However, while emergency personnel were working to control the blaze, an individual emerged from the home and brandished a weapon, charging toward both fire and police personnel. In response to the imminent threat posed by the individual, police officers were forced to discharge their weapons to protect themselves and others on scene.”

During a press conference later in the day, Pinehurst Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Hall stated the axe the man used as a weapon was a firefighter’s axe used to gain access into the home and was left at the front door.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was also on the scene investigating. 

“Upon arrival, officers encountered a man armed with an ax in the front yard of 11 Remington Lane,” said the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. “During the incident, one officer attempted to subdue the individual using non-lethal methods. Soon after, two officers discharged their firearms, striking the man. He was subsequently transported to a nearby medical facility, where he was pronounced deceased.”

A nearby landing zone was set up for a helicopter. However, the man’s condition rapidly deteriorated at the landing zone. The man was taken to Moore Regional Hospital, where he died a short time later.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced on Thursday the identity of the man as 37-year-old Sawyer Felton Frye.

The two officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave. An officer first used a taser stun gun during the incident. 

Hall said he believes the last officer-involved shooting in Pinehurst occurred in the 1950s.

Feature photo: Authorities on Remington Lane in Pinehurst after a structure fire escalated into an officer-involved shooting on March 19. Photo by Sandhills Sentinel photographer Melissa Schaub.

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