According to the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office, it happened about 1:30 a.m. when deputies attempted a traffic stop of a "known suspect" on U.S. 258 North near the Felix Harvey Parkway.
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The driver, identified as Spencer Jackson, 31, of Kinston, initially stopped for deputies but then fled from the scene in his vehicle.
Jackson was the only person in the vehicle.
Deputies pursued Jackson's vehicle to the 1900 block of Hullwood Drive. Jackson got out and ran to an outbuilding behind his home and came out with a rifle, pointing it at the deputies, the sheriff's office said.
Two deputies fired shots, the sheriff's office said. Jackson was struck and died at the scene.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is at the scene investigating the shooting, as is standard.
The names of the deputies are being withheld until the SBI finishes its investigation.
It was the second deadly shooting in 24 hours involving a sheriff's office in North Carolina.
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On Friday, a Hoke County deputy shot and killed a man. Deputies were serving a warrant when the shooting happened.
The sheriff's office identified the man as Larry Ray Scott, 66.
The sheriff's office said deputies were executing a "high-risk search warrant" at a home when they encountered two people carrying weapons. One person followed instructions to drop their weapon but when Scott wouldn't comply, that's when shots were fired.
Deputy shoots armed man while serving warrant
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