WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem police said a man is dead after barricading himself in a house, setting it on fire, and shooting at officers during a standoff Wednesday afternoon.
It started as a disturbance call at a home on Lockland Avenue around 1 p.m. Investigators said an officer tried to approach a man who was refusing to come outside of the home. Lt. Dorn said there was a “brief struggle” between the two, and the man pulled a gun on the officer. The officer retreated and yelled to other officers the man had a gun, and that’s when police surrounded the home.
Police said another man and a woman were able to escape the home before the shooting started. One of them was uninjured. The other was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
Police said the suspect stayed inside the home and started firing shots at officers.
A little later, police noticed smoke coming from the house. Investigators believe the man started it. Officials said the man fired at officers again, and this time, the officers shot back.
Firefighters put out the flames, and police confirmed the man died but didn’t say how.
The State Bureau of Investigation is now involved and will continue to investigate, which is protocol in officer-involved shootings.
City leaders address recent violence
The deadly standoff and fire is just the latest violence in Winston-Salem. It comes the day after three unrelated shootings happened in the city in one night. Leaders are hoping to get the violence under control with several initiatives.
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said technology that can detect and report gunshots across the city will likely roll out this summer.
“We're just starting a number of new initiatives, the gunshot detection system, we’ve got a violent crimes task force as more cooperation and collaboration with the sheriff and other law enforcement agencies. And I think we need to give some of those measures time to play out and see how it works and I think we’re certainly all prepared to take other steps as necessary,” Joines said.
The city is also planning to expand its real-time crime center later this year. The police department can track surveillance cameras and incidents in the community through that system.
"The real-time crime center has been a game-changer for us. We're only in phase one of implementation of the real-time crime center," Lt. Amy Gauldin with the WSPD criminal investigation division said.
