WILMINGTON — Authorities have released the name of the Wilmington Police officer and the man he shot during yesterday’s downtown shooting on Front Street.
Wilmington Police identified Raymond McGriff Jr., 30, of Leland as the man shot by Officer Adam Phillips. McGriff was struck by two bullets and is currently being treated for non-life threatening wounds. He is under police supervision at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
McGriff is charged with resisting arrest, assaulting a law enforcement officer with a firearm, and a special charge known as “going armed to the terror of the public,” as McGriff was allegedly walking around Front Street and the surrounding area brandishing a gun.
According to the Wilmington Police Department, “the incident happened around 1:30 p.m. in the 100 block of North Front Street after Officer Adam Phillips was approached by a citizen and told that a man was walking around the area with a gun. A short time later witnesses say they heard gunshots and saw the suspect running towards the New Hanover County Library. A New Hanover County Sheriff’s Deputy on scene at the library apprehended the suspect and took him into custody.”
McGriff was the only person injured during the incident, according to the Wilmington Police.
The State Bureau of Investigation has also been called in to investigate the shooting. Officer Phillips, a nine-year veteran currently serving on the Downtown Task Force, is on paid leave pending an internal investigation at the Wilmington Police Department.
