Investigators have secured warrants for 23-year-old Irving Lucien Fenner, Jr., who they say is the main suspect in the shooting.
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Fenner had a gunshot wound on his lower torso from his standoff with Shelby police, Philbin said.
Irving Fenner appeared for his arraignment at state police headquarters Wednesday night in hospital scrubs and a sling.
“Ann and I are offering thoughts and prayers to both the Brackeen family and to the Shelby Police Department for the loss of their colleague”, North Carolina Gov.
Brakeen was attempting to arrest Irving, who had warrants for robbery and kidnapping, when the two exchanged gunfire, police said.
Brackeen, 38, joined the Shelby police in July 2004 and was a K-9 officer.
Corry Peeler, 39, Fenner’s uncle, and Corry Peeler’s girlfriend, Hope Wyman, 39, were arrested for harboring a fugitive in their apartment, State Police said.
Authorities also arrested Deitra Morris, 37, of North Carolina on a charge of accessory after the fact of first-degree murder in connection with the case. Authorities have since charged Fenner with attempted murder in Brackeen’s shooting.
Line-of-duty deaths are generally more likely to occur during situations like what happened in Shelby, when officers are slain doing otherwise routine police work.
Three people accused of helping Fenner in Rhode Island were also arraigned Wednesday night. Brackeen died from his wounds on Monday.
Members of the Rhode Island State Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team executed an authorized search warrant with the assistance of the Providence Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation/ Safe Streets Task Force, and the Rhode Island State Police/ United States Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force Tuesday evening.
When police arrested Fenner his head was shaved. FBI Special Agent Colin Woods said analysis of Fenner’s cell phone, which authorities seized shortly after the shooting, led them to Rhode Island. He is in custody in Rhode Island.
According to Officer Brackeen’s pastor, a memorial service will be held Wednesday night at 7 p.m.at Bethel Baptist Church, along South Dekalb Street in Shelby. State Police Col. Steven O’Donnell tells WPRI-TV that Fenner surrendered peacefully.
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Brackeen’s body was escorted from the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office to the Cecil Burton Funeral Home in Shelby.
