BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — A Buncombe County Trooper who killed a suspect on Interstate 26 in western North Carolina earlier this month has been cleared and the shooting was ruled justified, DA Todd Williams announced.
Trooper Jeffery Dunlap stopped to help a stranded driver on the westbound side of I-26 in Buncombe County a little after 7:30 p.m. when the driver allegedly pulled out a gun and shot him. Dunlap was wearing a bulletproof vest and returned fire, killing the driver.
The suspect was identified as 57-year-old Wesley Scott Taylor of Leicester, North Carolina. Dunlap, a 13-year veteran of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, was taken to a hospital for observation and was released, the agency said.
"Trooper Dunlap was legally justified to use deadly force, no criminal charges will be filed in this matter and the NC SBI may close this investigation," Williams said.
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