North Carolina man dies after shootout with officers

LENOIR, N.C. (AP) — A suspect was fatally wounded in a shootout with a trooper and a deputy along a highway in western North Carolina, investigators said.

Authorities were called to a report of a crash involving an overturned vehicle and an armed man on a highway in Caldwell County on Sunday afternoon, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said in a news release.

Officials said the suspect fired at the deputy and trooper who arrived on the scene, and both officers returned fire.

The suspect fled on foot and was later found in a wooded area suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a hospital and died. The trooper and deputy were not injured.

Authorities identified the dead suspect as 35-year-old Jerome Lavon Connelly of Morganton.

Per standard procedure, the trooper has been placed on administrative duty while the State Bureau of Investigation and Highway Patrol investigate.