KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A man was killed Friday after Kannapolis police officers opened fire during an encounter involving an attempted carjacking, according to the Kannapolis Police Department.
The incident began around 11:40 a.m. Aug. 14 when Kannapolis police received a 911 call reporting a man firing a gun along South Main Street near Bell Street.
As officers approached the area, police said they saw an armed man attempting to carjack a vehicle near the intersection of South Main Street and Bethpage Road.
Officers shot the man during the encounter. He was taken to Atrium Health Cabarrus, where he died from his injuries.
No officers were injured.
A witness who spoke with WSOC-TV said the man attempted to get into one vehicle before approaching another. The second vehicle was locked, and its driver pulled away. The witness said the man then moved toward a nearby apartment complex as officers ordered him to stop. The witness reported hearing several gunshots.
Police have not released the man’s identity or identified the officers involved.
Authorities also have not publicly said how many officers fired their weapons or whether the man fired at officers during the encounter.
The officers involved were placed on administrative leave pending an internal review, a standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was called to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting.
Additional information, including the circumstances surrounding the original report of gunfire and events immediately before officers opened fire, has not been released.
The investigation remains ongoing.
