A man was shot during a confrontation involving a hostage situation Friday night. The following is a news release from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.
Newton, N.C. – At 6:34 a.m. on Saturday, 10/01/2022, deputies with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a hostage situation on Village Circle, which is in the Mtn View community. When deputies arrived they discovered that an adult male was holding another adult male family member hostage. The hostage taker was armed with a handgun.
Catawba County’s Special Tactics and Response (STAR) and Crisis Intervention and De-escalation Teams responded. Crisis negotiators and deputies made several attempts to de-escalate the situation and to encourage the hostage taker to release the hostage. Despite efforts by negotiators and deputies to bring about a peaceful resolution the hostage taker continued to threaten the hostage and was shot by deputies. Catawba County EMS provided treatment to the hostage taker who was ultimately pronounced deceased on scene.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is initiating an investigation into this incident. The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an internal review.