Woman fatally shot by authorities after Edgecombe chase
A Winston-Salem woman who was the subject of a Silver Alert on Friday was shot and killed by authorities on U.S. Highway 64 near Tarboro Sunday morning after a pursuit.
Posted — UpdatedSpokesman 1st Sgt. Jeff Gordon said in a news release that police in Robersonville – in Martin County – attempted to stop Melissa Anne Jenkins, 60, shortly before 10:30 a.m., but that Jenkins fled, leading authorities on a chase along westbound U.S. 64 into Edgecombe County.
Jenkins was armed with multiple weapons, Gordon said, when she pulled over her white 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee on the highway about 15 minutes later.
"Law enforcement personnel tirelessly attempted to negotiate with the driver to surrender but were unsuccessful," Gordon said in the news release.
At approximately 11:45 a.m., she got out of the vehicle and pointed a weapon at law enforcement officers, who returned fire, killing Jenkins.
The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons issued a Silver Alert – a notification about missing people who suffer from cognitive impairments – for Jenkins Friday afternoon.
Gordon said an investigation into the shooting is under way and that multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Edgecombe and Martin County sheriff's offices and Robersonville Police Department, were at the scene and that officers with multiple agencies fired shots.
State troopers W.R. Bulluck and S.A. Stone have been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, which is standard in officer-involved shootings. Gordon clarified Sunday evening that he did not yet know if they were the officers who fired the fatal shots.
Bulluck is a 10-year veteran of the state Highway Patrol in Nash County, and Stone has been with the agency in Pitt County for five years.
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