Northwest Elementary on 'light lockdown' this morning following overnight manhunt
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on March 28, 2017 11:07 AM
PIKEVILLE -- Northwest Elementary School is on a "light lockdown" this morning following an overnight manhunt after a report of a suspicious person in the area, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Maj. Tom Effler said he could not confirm whether or not the suspicious person spotted in the area, which prompted the light lockdown, is the person authorities are searching for.
Effler said a light lockdown means one deputy is staged at the school at 1769 Pikeville-Princeton Road and others are in the area.
We are on scene at Northwest Elem. where the manhunt for an armed suspect continues, the school is on light lockdown, per officials. pic.twitter.com/NTQUstR06Z
— Goldsboro News-Argus (@newsargus) March 28, 2017
Effler said he did not have a description of the suspicious person available. He added that a light lockdown means the school's doors are locked but the students can move between classes.
Wayne County Public Schools' Director of Communication Services Ken Derksen did not immediately return a phone call seeking more information.
A man eluded law enforcement's grasp twice in the past 24 hours after reportedly shooting at a man at the Speedway gas station at 1501 U.S. 70 West.
The person authorities are looking for is described as being a 5-foot-9-inch tall black man with close cut hair in his 20s.
Authorities hunted the man through Monday night and into this morning, clearing the area around 4 a.m. before continuing their search.
The search began after the Goldsboro Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at the Speedway.
Following the shooting incident, at 3:12 p.m., a suspicious person matching the suspect's description ---- a 5-foot-9-inch tall black man with close cut hair or bald, in his 20s wearing blue jeans and a dirty, white T-shirt ---- was called in to deputies in the Green Valley area.
At 4:39 p.m., deputies spotted the suspect's vehicle, but no one was visible in the immediate area.
Effler said the deputies "set up" on the vehicle to watch and see if the suspect came back. In about half an hour, he did.
Deputies moved in, but the suspect tried to drive off. He wrecked the vehicle in a stand of trees atop a hill off of U.S. 70 West near the McDonald's.
The suspect then fled on foot and has not been seen by law enforcement since.