Manhunt In Orange County After Officer Shot At

Serious police officer standing next to car

Source: Susan Chiang / Getty

Officers are looking for a man who is accused of shooting at a North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper in Orange County on Tuesday morning causing some local schools to go on a soft lock-down.

According to Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the trooper tried to pull over a 2008 GMC SUV around 3 a.m. that had been reported stolen out of Greensboro on Feb. 20.

Officials said video shows the suspect was driving down I-40 when he started to fire shots at the trooper behind him.

The suspect then swerved across the road and down an embankment, crashed the stolen SUV, continued to fired shots toward the trooper and ran off into the woods.

The trooper was not hit or injured during the shooting, but the patrol was hit at least twice.

The suspect remains at large, and schools in the area will be impacted by the ongoing manhunt.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said deputies and troopers will be shadowing buses. He said there will also be an increased officer presence at Morris Grove Elementary, New Hope Elementary, A.L. Stanback Middle and Partnership Academy.

Blackwood said the increased law enforcement presence is merely a precaution to make sure all students and school employees are safe.

Source: ABC11.com