Man fatally shot by deputies in North Carolina was holding a toy gun, investigators say
A 46-year-old man was holding a toy gun when he was shot and killed by law enforcement over the weekend in North Carolina, state investigators say.
Officers believed Matthew Oxendine of Red Springs was pointing what appeared to be a gun at them when he was killed Sunday, according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. The State Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate, which is standard protocol after an officer shoots someone.
“In the vehicle that he was in, SBI crime scene agents recovered a toy gun with a wooden stock and a metal bolt with a short barrel,” the SBI said in a statement to McClatchy News.
Robeson County deputies responded to a residence in Pembroke around 9:41 p.m. Sunday after someone dialed 911 and hung up, according to the sheriff’s office. Pembroke is about 100 miles south of Raleigh near the South Carolina border.
When the dispatcher made contact with the caller, later identified as Oxendine, he said “I’m just going to bleed out” and hung up, The News & Observer previously reported.
Oxendine set fire to the car he was sitting in when deputies arrived at the house, according to law enforcement. As deputies tried to coax him out of the burning vehicle, the sheriff’s office said, Oxendine told them he had a weapon and had served time in prison for shooting at police.
DPS records show Oxendine was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a firearm in 2008 and served five years in prison.
Law enforcement with the special weapons and tactics team also tried to get Oxendine to leave the car.
“SWAT operators then approached the vehicle and Oxendine pointed what appeared to be a firearm in the direction of the operators,” the sheriff’s office said. “Oxendine was then shot.”
Deputies called for an EMS technician and Oxendine was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Man fatally shot by deputies in North Carolina was holding a toy gun, investigators say."
