Saturday, February 15, 2025

Suspect shot by SWAT team passes away from injuries

Courtesy NHCSO

WILMINGTON — A 27-year-old who shot at officers last Wednesday died from injuries sustained upon law enforcement returning gunfire.

READ MORE: SBI to investigate WPD use of force in search warrant execution

Spokesperson Brandon Shope confirmed Malik Samuell Thompson passed away Sunday, May 26. Thompson fired at officers after the Cape Fear Regional Special Teams SWAT Unit tried to serve a narcotics-related warrant in the 900 block of South 11th Street. 

Last week, WPD noted its officers attempted to communicate with Thompson through a loud speaker before deploying a distraction device into the window of the residence Thompson was located in. Thompson then began firing and struck one officer in a ballistics vest.

“The people he victimized by shooting at are doing fine today,” Shope told PCD.

SWAT team members critically wounded Thompson and medics began lifesaving efforts until EMS responded. They transported the suspect to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

The two officers who shot Thompson are on paid administrative leave, per protocol, while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation looks into the use of force. 

At the 11th Street crime scene, law enforcement located large quantities of drugs and a gun. Thompson’s previous criminal history includes assault and firearms-related charges.


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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