State Street standoff ends in fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound

barricaded fugitive dead after chase in Black mountain

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 9, 2023

A five-hour standoff in Black Mountain, Oct. 9, ended around 9 p.m., as officers found a subject deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Photo by Fred McCormick

A man wanted on six felony arrest warrants for second degree exploitation of a minor is dead, following a five-hour standoff, Oct. 9, with Black Mountain Police and other law enforcement agencies, on U.S. 70.

The incident, which began as a pursuit from Black Mountain to Old Fort and back, ended when officers entered a room at the Apple Blossom Motel Motel and discovered the body of a deceased man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Black Mountain police officers attempted a traffic stop of the subject around 2:30 p.m., according to a press release issued by the department. The unidentified man, wanted in Buncombe County on six counts of second degree exploitation of a minor, did not stop, according to BMPD, who pursued the vehicle into the neighboring county. The armed suspect crashed his vehicle into the motel on West State Street, where he barricaded himself in a room, law enforcement officials said.

All four lanes of U.S. 70 were closed to traffic from around 3:30 p.m. until 9 p.m., as the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Team and a Special Response Team attempted to convince the subject to exit. Responding officers discovered the body when they entered the room after losing contact with the man, following several hours of communication.