Officers with the Haywood County Sherriff’s Office and the Canton Police Department responded to a report of a disturbance involving a person armed with a rifle on the Old Asheville Highway near Canton. When the officers arrived, the subject began to fire.
The suspect was killed during the exchange after firing a bullet that struck Deputy Sheriff Eric Batchelor, who was then transported to a local hospital. Batchelor came through surgery successfully and is in stable condition.
As is policy in the case of an officer-involved shooting, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigations is now conducting an investigation into the incident.