NC trooper shoots Virginia driver after chase on Saturday. Woman passenger surrenders.

Joe Marusak
·2 min read
1

A North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper shot a Virginia driver on Saturday who pointed a handgun at the officer after a pursuit that ended in Farmville, Highway Patrol Sgt. Chris Knox said.

Knox identified the driver as 35-year-old Virginia Beach resident Kenneth Charles Kinard. The Highway Patrol didn’t immediately release the trooper’s name but said the officer wasn’t hurt during the encounter.

The trooper shot Kinard “multiple times in the leg” after Kinard, who was running from the trooper, “stopped, turned and pointed a handgun,” Knox said in a State Highway Patrol news release.

Pitt County EMS took Kinard to ECU Health Medical Center. His condition was unknown Saturday night.

The pursuit started just after 7 a.m. on Interstate 587 near the Wilson and Greene county line, according to the Highway Patrol statement.

The trooper was conducting a speed enforcement when radar clocked an eastbound driver of a burgundy 2023 Kia Carnival at 90 mph in a 70-mph zone, Knox said.

The driver ignored the trooper’s flashing lights and continued on I-587 until exiting onto U.S. 258 and heading south into Farmville, according to the news release.

The pursuit ended when the driver stopped and ran from the minivan at the Bynum Drive intersection.

The trooper followed the man as he ran through a residential area and into an open field, Knox said. That’s when the man turned and pointed the gun, Knox said.

A female passenger in the minivan surrendered without incident and wasn’t hurt, according to the statement.

Charges are pending against Kinard, Knox said.

Kinard had multiple Virginia warrants for his arrest, Knox said, including contempt of court for probation violation; drug and drug paraphernalia possession; and felony grand larceny.

The Highway Patrol seized a firearm and illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia during the encounter Saturday.

Per Highway Patrol protocol, the trooper was placed on administrative duty pending an investigation of the shooting by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Knox said.