Fayetteville officer involved in fatal shooting threatened

Officer Aaron Hunt tried stopping a Ford Explorer near the intersection of Morganton Road and Virginia Avenue early Thursday, but the driver, Nijza Lamar Hagans, 22, kept traveling on South Virginia Avenue before coming to a stop at the dead end of the road.

During the stop, police said, Hunt shot Hagans, who died at the scene.

The Fayetteville Police Department hasn't provided more details about the incident, and they acknowledged Tuesday that the lack of information might have allowed rumors to spread that prompted the threats.

Police withheld the officer's name until they could investigate the threats intercepted by the department's Gun and Gang Violence Unit. Threats also have been made against the department as a whole, police said.

“Officer-involved shootings are emotional events for the families, the community, the officer and the department,” Interim Police Chief Katherine Bryant said in a statement. “Due to the sensitive nature of these incidents and by policy, the (State Bureau of Investigation) conducts the investigation into the incident. In doing so, it is not our investigation to publicly comment on. We ask that everyone remain patient while this investigation is being conducted so that factual information can be established through the investigative process.”

Hunt, 24, has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the SBI investigation, which is standard in police-involved shootings. He joined the Fayetteville Police Department in April 2010.