Shooting suspect dies of wounds
By Gary Popp
Published in News on September 20, 2011 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro man who is believed by authorities to be the gunman who fired a high-powered rifle at a Wayne County Sheriff's Office deputy Friday died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early this morning.
Harold Harloe-Bruce Clother, 30, of Timothy Street, shot himself in his home around 9:30 a.m. after a nearly eight-hour pursuit by law enforcement that began in Dudley and ended in Goldsboro. Clother was taken Wayne Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Pitt Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Clother is believed by investigators to be the suspect who fired several bullets into the windshield of a patrol car driven by Deputy Travis Cox during a pursuit about 1 a.m. Friday.
Cox experienced only minor injuries during the incident as he protected himself by lying on the floor of the patrol vehicle.
Deputies previously said that Clother drove off from a traffic stop after the vehicle's originally driver was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies.
At one point Clother, who was believed to be driving the vehicle during the initial pursuit, brought the car to an abrupt stop and began firing at Cox's vehicle. Clother, and two women, eluded lawmen until the investigation led them to his home in the 100 block of Timothy Street, where he apparently shot himself.