KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A man who arrived at a Kannapolis home set up in a child predator operation Wednesday was shot and killed by officers after he shot at them, according to police.
"It was crazy kind of like a war zone out here," said Cameron Ross, a neighbor.
The 33-year-old man, who was identified Thursday as Lamar Deshawn Young of Harrisburg, arrived at a home on Bellwood Place in Kannapolis around 1:45 p.m. believing he was meeting with a 15-year-old girl to have sex, a spokesperson for the Kannapolis Police Department said.
"It's such a shock because I know a lot of kids out here and it's a lot of kids in this area," said Kenneth Hankins, another neighbor.
The location was set up as a joint operation between the Kannapolis Police Department and Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office targeting internet crimes against children and child sex predators, according to the spokesperson's statement.
When Young arrived at the home, police attempted to arrest him but he resisted, according to the release.
He then shot at police, according to the release. Officers from both agencies returned fire, striking him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Nobody else was hurt in the incident, according to the release.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, following standard protocol, according to the release.
Kannapolis Police noted Young was recently released from federal prison and was on active parole, required to wear a GPS ankle monitor. The department also said he had served time previously in both state and federal prisons for manslaughter and various drug and weapons-related offenses.
The shooting remains under investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. That agency's report will be then sent to the Cabarrus County District Attorney's Office for review.
"Everybody need to pull together and be one big family, instead of you not knowing your neighbor get to know your neighbor," said Hankins.
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