Rocky Mount officials identify man shot by police officer

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Rocky Mount police officer shot a suspect in a domestic dispute after the man pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer, a city spokesperson said Friday.

According to city officials, at 7:38 a.m. police received a 911 call about a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of Sedgefield Drive. A woman there had been assaulted and had serious injuries.

The woman was transported to Nash UNC Health Care. City officials said she has been released from the hospital.

Rocky Mount officers searched the area for the suspect, who city officials later identified as the victim's husband Ariel Natanzon, and eventually found him in the 200 block of Cunningham Drive.

Authorities said that, during the encounter, Natanzon pulled out a gun, which the officer ordered him to drop.

Officials said Natanzon refused to drop the handgun and, instead, pointed the gun at the officer, the city official said. The officer then fired, hitting him in the abdomen.

Natanzon was taken to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville where he was reported to be stable as of 10:22 a.m.

Neighbor James Salisbury said they neighborhood is typically quiet.

"I'm sorry that this has happened here," Salisbury said. "It does make you a little shaky to realize that something like that is taking place."

The shooting was captured on body camera.

Rocky Mount Police Department's Professional Standards Division is conducting an internal investigation. The State Bureau of Investigation has been called to conduct an independent investigation.

Anyone with further information is asked to call 252-972-1411.