WILMINGTON — Local law enforcement has released a video of police fire exchanged with William Brent Gilmore last Friday along Market Street. District attorney Ben David also announced no officer will face criminal charges.
READ MORE: Suspect in multiple shootings, WB assault, Market Street chase killed by police
The footage was caught on a traffic camera, not considered a law enforcement-owned recording, according to Wilmington Police Department spokesperson Lt. Greg Willett. Normally, items like police dash-cam or body recording footage must be authorized by a judge.
“It was an opportunity to release a video to show the end stage of that incident,” Willett told Port City Daily, “in a non-overly graphic way of exactly what went down.”
The decision to release the video was a joint one among WPD Chief Donny Williams, New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon and the DA.
Four officers shot and killed Gilmore last Friday, after he initially opened fire on them along a busy corridor of Market Street at Lennon Avenue just after 1 p.m. Gilmore was attempting to outrun the police both in vehicle and by foot.
The suspect was tied to a series of crimes that took place over 20 hours on Aug. 17 and 18. Detectives with the WPD had been investigating him as a person of interest in shooting a woman, Shelley Lancaster, six times. Lancaster was walking her dog on Lake Avenue late last Thursday afternoon when shots were fired, striking her and also hitting the house behind her. She is recovering from her injuries.
Police also suspected Gilmore in an incident that happened 45 minutes beforehand, wherein multiple shots were fired into a home on Dixie Avenue. No one was hurt.
The following Friday, just after noon, shots were reported near Holiday Inn Resort Lumina. The Wrightsville Beach Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office began to investigate and linked Gilmore to an assault on another woman, who he allegedly had tied up in a home on Wrightsville Beach.
Law enforcement found gun shell casings there matching the 9-mm casings WPD located at the other crime scenes. Witnesses identified the suspect’s car, which matched one police had determined Gilmore was driving according to obtained video surveillance.
“The joint effort between our agencies was extremely beneficial during this incident,” Williams said in a press release Thursday. “As I have stated before, in law enforcement, we never want to have to take a life, but when it comes down to it, if that is the necessary action, that is what we will do to protect our community.”
The 1-minute video made public Thursday shows multiple units attempting to apprehend Gilmore, who exited his car near Jason’s Deli and Olive Garden, after it crashed into a nearby civilian vehicle. He immediately opened fire 12-feet or so away from two plain-clothed officers from the sheriff’s vice unit. They fired back.
Within seconds, nearly a dozen law enforcement vehicles arrived on the scene, the video indicates, with uniformed officers jumping out and running toward the suspect near Sigmon Road. Others remained on the scene to block traffic, as New Hanover County 911 Center coordinated efforts to provide first responders with real-time information.
“Our telecommunicators, working seamlessly with field responders, are the heartbeat of our community’s safety, showing dedication and coordination in every call and response,” 911 director Hope Downs said in the release.
Williams added the “heroic actions” of all units on the scene, which also included the N.C. State Highway Patrol, saved numerous lives.
“[It] helped put an end to a criminal rampage,” he said.
Sheriff McMahon and WBPD chief David Squires echoed the praise and everyone’s involvement. Williams added it’s the best police work he has seen in his 30-year tenure with the force and attributed the ongoing training of law enforcement as paramount to protecting others in dangerous situations.
Little has been released by law enforcement about Gilmore or his motive. However, court records show the suspect spent time in prison on multiple occasions. From age 16 to 20, he served four years for robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to inflict serious injury.
In 2010, he spent eight months in prison for larceny, DWI, speeding to elude arrest, wanton injury to person or property and driving with a revoked license.
Three years later, Gilmore was sentenced to federal prison for a multitude of criminal charges from 2011, including felon with possession of a firearm, larceny, breaking and entering, safecracking, and felony conspiracy.
He spent seven years in the federal system and was released in June 2020.
In 2021, he was charged in New Hanover and Columbus counties for additional traffic violations, including driving while impaired, fictional registration and tags, no liability insurance, and failure to notify DMV of address change. The most recent charges were dismissed.
DA David said the officers involved in Gilmore’s shooting — three New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office deputies and one from the Wilmington Police Department, who have yet to be named — should return to active duty as soon as they are able. Williams said they will be formally recognized by agency heads at a later date.
The SBI continues to investigate the incident.
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