A 37-year-old local man was fatally shot in an officer-involved incident on Remington Lane in Pinehurst on Wednesday morning. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation identified him on Thursday as Sawyer Felton Frye. A Moore County native, Frye was a talented musician who enjoyed making commercial jingles.
According to Pinehurst Police, the incident began when officers were dispatched to a suspicious person call on Remington Lane around 7:45 a.m. Upon arrival, they were unable to locate the individual but noticed smoke coming from a home at 11 Remington Lane. They then requested assistance from the Pinehurst Fire Department.
Once Pinehurst firefighters were on scene, they had to make a forced entry into the house using an ax. When crews made entry, Frye came out of the home, and grabbed the ax that firefighters used to make entry, according to Pinehurst Police Department. The firefighters were unaware he was in the house at the time of entry.
Authorities say officers told Frye to put the ax down and initially used non-lethal means to get him to comply, but when he did not, the officers fired their weapons striking Frye.
Frye was transported to Moore Regional Hospital where he later died, according to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation. Moore County News was told that no officers or fire fighters were hurt during the incident.
The SBI was called to lead the investigation into the shooting and the officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard protocol after such events.
Remington Lane was closed for around 12 hours while the incident was investigated.
Deputy Chief Ken Hall of the Pinehurst Police Department held a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, you can watch the entire press conference in the video below.