GoBlueRidge.net has the story. I know Seven Devils is a tiny little upscale community, but it’s pretty amazing that a police officer there hasn’t shot anyone in 29 years.
Seven Devils Police Chief Chuck Davis says SBI officials hope to complete their investigation into a January 9th officer-involved shooting by the end of this month.
The incident, the first officer-involved shooting within the Seven Devils Police Department since 1979, left 37-year-old suspect Walter Garland Steele dead, shot to death by Seven Devils Police Officer Jonathan Harris.
Harris was at Steele’s residence responding to a complaint of shots being fired in the area. As Harris knocked on Steele’s door responding to a call, Steele is alleged to have answered the door holding a gun. A statement from Seven Devils Police Department after the incident says Harris told Steele on at least three occasions to drop the weapon before Steele allegedly turned the gun on Harris. Harris fired an unknown amount of shots, killing Steele.
Davis says the SBI is awaiting results from a lab in Asheville. A toxicology report is among those causing the hold up. Officials tell Aisling Broadcasting it is not unusual to take this long to get results. We’ll keep you updated on-air and on-line as the situation develops.