Rocky Mount officer shoots suspect in motel robbery

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating after a Rocky Mount police officer was involved in a shooting Sunday evening at the Motel 6 at 1370 N. Wesleyan Blvd.

Officers responded to the motel at about 7 p.m. after a 20-year-man said he had been robbed at gunpoint while on the third floor.

An officer saw the suspect holding a gun outside the motel and shot at him, striking him once, police spokeswoman Laura Fahnestock said. Whether the suspect fired at police is under investigation, police said.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was taken to Nash General Hospital, then transferred to Pitt Regional Memorial Hospital in Greenville. He was listed in critical condition late Sunday.

No officers were injured.

A second suspect, thought to have been involved in the armed robbery, fled the scene. She was described as a black woman, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a slim build and long black hair. She was wearing a pink winter coat and glasses.

The woman might be driving a late-model, dark green Cadillac sedan, Fahnestock said.

The SBI review of the shooting is standard procedure for any incident in which a North Carolina law enforcement officer fires a weapon.

Anyone with information regarding the robbery or shooting is asked to call the Rocky Mount Police Department at 919-972-1411.