COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – The five deputies placed on administrative leave following a fatal shooting have now returned from administrative leave, per the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office says that they have been exonerated by the office and returned to work on Monday, June 3. The involved deputies were Timmy Inman, Alex Meeks, Zachary Moody, Taylor Hammonds and part-timer Franklin Blanton.
The deputies responded to a shots fired call at about 10:30 p.m. on May 15 along N.C. 905 on Seven Creeks Highway in Nakina. After they responded, they shot and killed 66-year-old Henry Allen Zartman from South Carolina.
In a 911 recording, the caller is heard saying that Zartman was an old boyfriend and that he threatened to go to her house and shoot himself. One caller also said that it looked like Zartman wanted the deputies to shoot him.
The State Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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