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Sheriff: Wake County deputy dies after shootingFree Access



Patrol cars are shown at the scene of Deputy Ned Byrd’s fatal shooting in a late Thursday image shared on the Wake County Sheriff’s Office’s Twitter account. Contributed photo

Law enforcement officers are mourning a sheriff’s deputy’s loss after authorities say he was killed in the line of duty in eastern Wake County.

Deputy Ned Byrd

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Ned Byrd died early Friday after someone shot him multiple times Thursday night. Media outlets say the shooting happened near a gas station at the intersection of Auburn Knightdale Road and Battle Bridge Road, which has a Raleigh address and is in unincorporated area between Knightdale and Raleigh.



Sheriff Gerald Baker vowed to identify and prosecute the shooter.

“We will find who’s responsible for this loss,” Baker said in a Friday press conference.

Officials haven’t described the circumstances that led to the shooting, and no suspect information had been released as of Friday.

Byrd, 48, joined the sheriff’s office in July 2019 as a non-sworn detention officer. He started basic law enforcement training in September 2017 and was sworn in as a deputy in March 2018, according to sheriff’s spokesman Eric F. Curry.

Attorney General Josh Stein condemned Byrd’s homicide, the latest in a string of shootings that wounded or killed North Carolina law enforcement officers. 

“I am profoundly troubled by the recent spate of violence against law enforcement officers,” Stein said in a Friday statement. “Officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities — we must do everything in our power to keep them safe. I thank the many public-spirited officers who are serving and protecting the people of North Carolina all over the state.”

Stein noted that Byrd is the second officer killed in the line of duty in less than two weeks. 

“This comes only 10 days after the murder of Wayne County Deputy Sgt. Matthew Fishman,” he said. “Four other North Carolina deputies have been shot doing their jobs in the last three weeks alone, but are thankfully still alive.” 

Fishman died of his injuries after he and two other deputies were shot Aug. 1 while trying to serve involuntary commitment papers at a home in the Dudley community south of Goldsboro, according to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

“I send my deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those whose lives have been lost and my best wishes to those recovering,” Stein said. “You are in our hearts.”