Brunswick County, N.C. officials investigating officer-involved shooting after man shot in head

This story has been updated.

A man suffered a single gunshot to the head during an incident with Brunswick County authorities Tuesday morning, and an investigation has been launched to determine if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted or if an officer who fired struck the suspect, police said. Later Tuesday evening, an internal investigation by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards cleared the officer involved, according to authorities.

At about 6 a.m. Tuesday, detectives with the Brunswick County sheriff’s office were helping the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations on a search warrant at a home on Little River Road in Ash, N.C., according to a release from the BCSO.

While authorities were trying to arrest Bradley Barrett Lewis, 28, a resident at the home on Little River Road, police said Lewis showed a gun and fired a single shot, the release states.

At the same time, Major Laurie Watson with the BCSO also pulled out her gun and fired a single shot, authorities said.

“The suspect suffered what appears to be a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to Grand Strand Medical Center where he remains. It has not been determined whether the injury was self-inflicted, or the result of deadly force used by Major Watson. There were no additional injuries sustained in the incident,” said Emily Flax, sheriff’s office spokeswoman, in the release.

Lewis’ condition was unknown Tuesday afternoon.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards and the State Bureau of Investigation have launched investigations into the officer-involved shooting at the request of Sheriff John W. Ingram, V. and District Attorney Jon David, the release states.

Major Watson was now on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigations, which is standard procedure, but was reinstated to full duty once she was cleared.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Brunswick County, N.C. officials investigating officer-involved shooting after man shot in head."