Off-duty police officer is killed in North Carolina after witnessing a crime at a gas station

Police in Greensboro, North Carolina, say an off-duty police officer was shot this weekend after witnessing a crime at a gas station and approaching the suspects

GROENSBORO, NC — An off-duty police officer was shot to death in North Carolina after witnessing a crime at a gas station and approaching the two suspects, officials said.

The police sergeant, whose name has not been released, was a 22-year veteran of the Greensboro Police Department, Chief John Thompson said during a news conference Saturday evening. Thompson did not specify what crime the off-duty officer witnessed or provide additional details about the events leading up to the shooting earlier that afternoon.

Police were looking for two men in their 20s and a black Chevrolet Equinox, according to a statewide alert sent to the public by Greensboro police. The Blue Alert was sent about two hours after the shooting and canceled about two hours later. A Blue Alert is used when a law enforcement officer has been seriously injured, killed or missing.

Thompson said another off-duty Greensboro officer and a paramedic were on scene when the shooting occurred and immediately rendered aid to their injured colleague. The sergeant was pronounced dead at a local medical facility.

“He was a loving husband, father, son and brother with 22 years of service to the department,” Thompson said in prepared remarks.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who also spoke to local media Saturday evening, said the department needs time and space to complete the investigation and bring the suspects to justice.

“Words are inadequate at the moment,” she says. “There's really nothing I can say that will bring any comfort to the family or the officers. What happened today was a senseless act of violence.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, pledging “all available state resources to catch those who killed a Greensboro police officer.”