Suspect in fatal Avalon Pier shooting arrested: One dead, one wounded, police say

Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills (File photo by Corinne Saunders)

By Corinne Saunders

KILL DEVIL HILLS — One person died and another was injured and flown out for medical treatment in a shooting at Avalon Pier on Thursday, where calls of “shots fired” came at 2:37 p.m., Kill Devil Hills Assistant Chief of Police Dana Harris said in a 5:30 p.m. press conference about the incident.

Harris did not release the names of any involved parties, stating that the next of kin has not yet been notified. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney’s Office are assisting in the investigation, he said.

The suspect fled the scene before law enforcement arrived “in less than four minutes,” but with witnesses’ descriptions, Harris said the suspect was “quickly identified,” along with the car in which he fled. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded.

“The suspect is in custody, so there’s no threat to the community at this time,” Harris said.

He stressed that this shooting, which took place in the pier parking lot, was “an isolated incident.”

Harris at the press conference said the arrest was made in Southern Shores, but Rachel Tackett, Town of Kill Devil Hills spokesperson, confirmed to Outer Banks Insider Thursday evening that the arrest took place in Kitty Hawk.

The press conference took place at Awful Arthur’s Beach Shop, located across N.C. Highway 12 from Avalon Pier, and was also live-streamed on the Town of Kill Devil Hills’ Facebook page. It lasted less than 7 minutes.

Harris declined to answer most reporters’ questions, such as about any known criminal history of the suspect; any possible motive; or the relationship of the suspect with the deceased and with the wounded, citing the ongoing investigation and the fact next of kin was not yet notified.

In response to one question, Harris said he’s been in law enforcement for 48 years, not all of it in this area, but he does not recall any such prior incident taking place here.

Previously, a Kitty Hawk police spokesperson told Outer Banks Insider in an email around 3:45 p.m. Thursday that the suspect in a “critical incident” in Kill Devil Hills was arrested in Kitty Hawk.

“The suspect from this incident was apprehended at EMS Station 9 in Kitty Hawk,” Det. Jason Rigler of Kitty Hawk Police Department said, directing further questions to the Kill Devil Hills Police Department.

Radio chatter indicated that the incident occurred at Avalon Pier and required at least one person to be airlifted by Dare County Emergency Management Services (EMS) personnel from First Flight Airport in Kill Devil Hills to the hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.

Outer Banks Insider saw multiple unmarked law enforcement vehicles quickly traveling north with lights and sirens on, on U.S. Highway 158 in Kill Devil Hills around 2:45 p.m. Soon after, an ambulance and a Nags Head Police Department vehicle also drove north on U.S. Highway 158 with lights and sirens on.

This is a developing story. Outer Banks Insider will update this article as new official information is available.

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This story was updated at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, with information added following the press conference. It was updated again at 8:20 p.m. with confirmation that this outlet’s initial reporting of the arrest location was correct.

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