Deputy dies and two others injured after nine-hour standoff with suspect in North Carolina

Sgt Matthew Fishman died one day after he was shot while trying to serve papers in Dudley, North Carolina

A North Carolina deputy was fatally wounded and two others injured after being shot, while trying to serve papers, by a suspect who later shot himself, authorities say.

Wayne County Sheriff’s Office announced the death of Sgt Matthew Fishman, 38, on Tuesday, a day after he and Cpl Andrew Cox, 37, and Dep Alexander Torres, 27, were shot at a property in the town of Dudley at around 10.30am.

After a nine-hour standoff, a SWAT team entered the barricaded property in Arrington Bridge Rd at 8.30pm to find the suspect, Jourdan Hamilton, 23, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Joel Gillie, the Wayne County public information officer, told WITN the officers were shot while attempting to serve involuntary commitment paperwork. They had been wearing vests at the time, he said.

Mr Fishman was rushed to ECU Health Medical Center in a critical condition where he later died.

Mr Cox and Mr Torres are in a stable condition.

“Nobody expects to go into work and be shot at, but this is what our men and women do on a daily basis,” Mr Gillie told reporters.

WNCN reported that Hamilton had been cited for two misdemeanours in recent years - communicating threats last year and resisting an officer in 2019, according to records with the  the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.