STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — A person who allegedly opened fire on responding officers after a crash in Stanly County was shot and killed by law enforcement early Thursday morning, officials said.
According to the Stanly County Sheriff's Office, a deputy and North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper responded to a 911 call about a car in a ditch at the intersection of North Carolina Highway 73 and Lowell Road around 1:45 a.m.
When Trooper Micheal McCormick arrived at the scene, he observed the suspected driver had a gun tucked in his waistband. McCormick then called for backup from a Stanly County deputy, according to Highway Patrol. The two then attempted to take the man, identified as 22-year-old Ghassan Radwan Baba, into custody.
Verbal commands to drop the weapon were given to Baba, who refused to comply, a sheriff's office spokesperson said. He then allegedly fired multiple shots at law enforcement. Both the deputy and Trooper McCormick returned fire and fatally struck Baba. It's unclear which officer fired the fatal shot at this time.
Baba died at the scene, according to the sheriff's office. McCormick was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and the NC State Bureau of Investigation's independent investigation.
The responding deputy has been placed on administrative leave. The State Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation of this incident.
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