A North Carolina cop was shot and killed inside a supermarket on Monday while responding to a report of an armed suspect at the store, according to authorities.
Greensboro police officer Michael Horan succumbed to his injuries after he was shot at a Food Lion store at around 11 a.m., Assistant Chief MJ Harris said during a news conference.
The suspected gunman was later taken into custody following a high-speed chase after fleeing the scene, police officials said.
A witness inside the store told the local Fox affiliate station she was with her 6-year-old granddaughter when she heard gunfire ring out.
“We were on our way out and I was purchasing a lottery ticket and I was just sitting there and heard a ‘pop-pop’ and then ‘pop-pop-pop.’ I think I heard five shots,” Ramona Miller told WGHP.
“At first I didn’t know it was a shooting … but an employee yelled out, ‘Shooting! Shooting!’”
Details surrounding the shooting — including whether Horan returned fire — were not immediately clear on Monday.
Harris said Horan responded to a report of a man with a firearm at the Food Lion before the gunfire erupted.
Horan was with the Greensboro police department for seven years and previously served with the United States Coast Guard for 18 years. He was an Army reservist at the time of his death.
“He was an excellent officer,” Harris said. “He had an outstanding reputation inside the department and in the community.”
“Thanks to the help of multiple partners the offender is in custody and there is no threat to the public,” the chief said.
The identity of the suspect and the charges he’s facing have yet to be released as the investigation is ongoing, according to police.
The state’s Bureau of Investigation will be conducting the probe into the shooting.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper conveyed his sorrow over the death of the officer on Monday.
“The officer was courageously doing his duty protecting Greensboro when he became a victim of a senseless act of violence,” Cooper said.
“I extend to his family and friends my sympathy and a grateful heart for his brave dedicated service.”
With Post wires
