WILMINGTON — A 22-year-old New Hanover County man who went on a shooting spree in Carolina Beach last October pleaded guilty Monday in Pender County Superior Court to multiple violent charges.
Thomas Coulson was charged with three counts of attempted first degree murder, three counts of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer, two counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling and attempted discharging a firearm into an occupied conveyance in motion.
What happened
On October 3, 2016, Sargent Larry Ward and Officer Nicholas Tice of the Carolina Beach Police Department, along with Officer Greg Brown of the Kure Beach Police Department responded to a report of a home being struck by gunfire in the area of 1600 Sea Ray Lane. Upon arrival, they found themselves almost immediately under fire.
According to a press release from District Attorney Ben David, the officers were standing beneath the home’s carport when they heard a loud bang, recognized as gunfire, come from a home across the street.
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In the ensuing moments, Officer Tice reported “immediately seeing a piece of black metal shoot up in front of his face, before falling to the ground.” In a stroke of luck, he was uninjured.
A bullet struck a key-ring holder attached to the right side of his duty belt, ricocheting through his holster and into his pant leg without penetrating the skin.
As the officers took cover, Sgt. Ward witnessed Coulson pointing an “assault weapon” at him from across the street. The weapon was later identified as a “WASR 10 assault rifle,” a Romanian manufactured version of the AK-47.
Coulson continued firing at the officers, forcing them to call for back up. Officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI, ATF, and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist.
While officers continued to receive fire, a Southeastern NC Air-Borne Law Enforcement (SABLE) helicopter arrived on scene. Coulson opened fire on the helicopter as well. After several hours, the New Hanover County Emergency Response team was able to extract the pinned down officers.
After running out of ammunition, the defendant was witnessed fleeing in the direction of Pinfish Lane. At that point, according to the release, several officers were able to corner the shooter at a home located at 1611 Pinfish Lane.
After instructing Coulson to get onto the ground, the defendant reached into his pocket and retrieved an object. According to Sgt. Bacon with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect appeared agitated and aggressive, assuming a shooting stance at him.
According to the release, Coulson then instructed law enforcement officers to shoot him.
As this unfolded, another law enforcement officer was able to distinguish that what Coulson held in his head was not a weapon, and in fact was later identified as a red inhaler. Officers were able to “tackle” Coulson to the ground and take him into custody.
“The coordinated effort by multiple law enforcement agencies to take the defendant into custody without incident and thwart potential injuries to the general public is a true testament to the training the men and women of law enforcement receive,” Assistant District Attorney William Van Trigt said through the release. “They are asked to put their life on the line to keep us safe and I personally want to thank them for all they do.”
Coulson will spend the next 125 to 136 months in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
