On Thursday morning, North Carolina deputies, tasked with serving a warrant on Andrew Brown, Jr., a 42-year-old Black man from Elizabeth City, shot at the car Brown was driving as Brown fled the scene, killing him, CBS News reports.
Witnesses report the car, being towed away from the scene, had its back window shot out and multiple gunshots apparent on it. There is no information available on why the warrant was issued, but Brown had been arrested for non-violent drug possession crimes in the past. He had one conviction for drug possession on his record.
A neighbor who witnesses the shooting reported that Brown was driving away from the scene and was not a threat to deputies as they continued to fire at his fleeing vehicle. She said that Brown’s car veered and hit a tree. When deputies opened the driver’s side door, Brown was slumped over the steering wheel.
According to Pasquotank County Sheriff’ Tommy Wooten II, only one deputy fired at Brown. That deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the North Carolina state Bureau of Investigation.