ECU employee shot in 'unprovoked attack' outside Greenville elementary school

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- An East Carolina University employee was shot in an unprovoked attack near an elementary school, according to Greenville Police Department.

The shooting happened around 8:30 a.m. near Wahl-Coats Elementary School, which is located about a mile east of ECU. A school resource officer at the elementary school actually heard the shooting and called 911.

Police Chief Ted Sauls said the shooting happened when an ECU employee walking on the sidewalk outside of the elementary school came upon a person on a bicycle.

In what Sauls called an unprovoked attack, the cyclist pulled out a gun and fired at least five shots at the ECU employee.

The employee, who has not been identified, suffered what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The shooter then took off on their bicycle.

About 20 minutes later and just east of ECU's campus, police caught up with the suspected shooter. Sauls said when officers approached, the suspect pointed a gun at them and opened fire.

Officers returned fire, but in the shootout nobody was injured. The suspect did surrender and was taken into custody without further problems.

Sauls said the motive of the initial shooting remains unclear. He said the elementary school did not appear to have any connection to the shooting, other than being close enough for people inside of it to hear the gunshots.

Investigators are now questioning the shooting and going through surveillance video that captured the incident.