Florida man charged with killing N.C. trooper
Updated: 12 minutes ago
Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. stopped a vehicle driven by Edwardo Wong II on Interstate 40 in Haywood County around 10:20 p.m.
"An altercation occurred between Trooper Blanton and Wong, and Blanton was fatally shot," Lt. Everett Clendenin, public information officer for the patrol, said in a news release.
Wong, 37, removed the trooper’s weapon and fled the scene, authorities said. He was later arrested. Troopers and other law enforcement officials said they found drugs and weapons in Wong’s vehicle.
Wong has an Ormond Beach, Fla., address and told officials he was traveling from Tennessee. He has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for felony assault on law enforcement officers, felony drug violations, felony possession of a firearm and others, authorities said.
He was being held in the Haywood County Jail with out bail.
Patrol First Sgt. S.D. Greene confirmed early Wednesday morning that Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr. was shot and died after he was taken to Mission Hospitals in Asheville. Greene said a passerby called to report that Blanton had been shot.
Blanton, who was from Cherokee, was a two-year veteran of the patrol. He was married and had one child.
Lt. A.J. Dickey, who is based with the Highway Patrol in Asheville, told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Blanton stopped the eastbound vehicle for a traffic violation, but it's unknown what the violation was.
Wong allegedly shot Blanton twice, once in the shoulder and another bullet grazed his wrist, officials said. Blanton was wearing a bulletproof vest.
