MANTEO, N.C. (WAVY) — A Dare County deputy shot and killed a man who came at law enforcement with a knife late Monday night in Manteo, Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie said.
Doughtie said the shooting happened in the 1300 block of Burnside Road, after deputies responded around 11:30 p.m. for a trespassing in progress call.
The person shot by the deputy died at the scene. Although law enforcement has not released his name, his family identified him on Tuesday as Demetrius Selby.
Family members have created a memorial with balloons and flowers at the site where he died.
“He was the kind of guy who would walk down the street and the lady is taking out
her trash, and he would run over to pick it up, and take the trash in for her. He would help her with the groceries,” said Demetrius’ sister, Radasha Gregory.
Family members said Demetrius lived with mental challenges that were not treated.
Robert Flowers told WAVY someone in the mobile home called law enforcement to help Selby, not to kill him, and then the knife appeared. “He told him multiple times not to shoot,” Flowers said. “To my knowledge, he wanted to get help for him.”
Selby’s family insists he was not a stranger to the property where he was shot.
“He was not trespassing,” said his sister, Ebony Selby. “He has been there for years. This is one of our family properties, and he has been going there for his life. My family has owned this property and passed down for generations.”
Hananiah Collins, the mother of Demetrius’ child, said, “He was a good guy, and he will be truly missed by the community, and it is sad he had to lose his life like this.”
This is the latest in a recent string of tragedies for Selby’s family.
“Demetrius’ sister was murdered, along with 3-year-old daughter and then this past January his daughter, his baby daughter, was murdered,” Gregory said.
You may remember, Demetrius actually found his own daughter, Aonesty Selby, 18, dead, last January on an old logging road in Isle of Wight County.
The deputy involved in Monday night’s shooting has been placed on administrative leave in meantime as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation investigates the case.
A National Night Out event in the town of Manteo planned for Tuesday was canceled.
“Today’s National Night Out event will not take place as originally planned as it is not an appropriate time for a celebratory event,” said town manager Melissa Dickerson.
