Wake sheriff calls news conference after shooting by a deputy, but won’t give details

Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe would give no information Wednesday about a shooting involving a sheriff’s deputy serving an eviction notice.

Rowe called a news conference following Tuesday’s shooting and long standoff in Raleigh but would provide no details about the circumstances that left the tenant injured by gunfire.

Rowe would not answer questions about why the tenant was being evicted, what led to the deputy firing a gun, whether the tenant was armed or the shooting victim’s condition.

Instead, he referred to unspecified protocols and said both the SBI and his office are investigating. He said the deputy involved is on leave.

He declined to identify the tenant or the deputy.

”It’s not appropriate,” he said.

The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon at The Oaks Apartments in northeast Raleigh, not far from where U.S. 401 splits off Capital Boulevard.

A deputy carrying a court order had tried to evict the tenant nearly seven hours earlier, but the man refused to leave.

At around 5:30 p.m., deputies entered the apartment, where one of them fired a weapon.

The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct an investigation, which is standard after shootings by officers.

Rowe cited the difficulties first responders face and said every effort was taken to resolve the matter peacefully.

”The game-changer was when the individual refused to leave,” he said.