Friday, February 14, 2025

Suspect pulls gun on WPD officer after attempted home burglary

(Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands)

WILMINGTON — The Wilmington Police Department arrested a man Thursday for attempting to rob a home and pointing a firearm at law enforcement.

WPD were called to the 500 block of Robert E. Lee Dr. on Aug. 25, 11:14 p.m., and upon arrival a 65-year-old approached a patrol car, pointing his gun at an officer. The policewoman, with her service weapon in hand, commanded the suspect, Walter Gray, to drop his weapon.

“He complied, threw the gun down, and laid down on the ground,” according to a release from WPD; Gray was immediately taken into custody.

“Once again, a WPD officer who would have been justified in using deadly force was able to successfully contain a situation without injury,” WPD police chief Donny Williams said in the release.

Williams praised the 20 WPD officers who de-escalated a situation in an at least a dozen instances recently, despite being justified to use deadly force. In 2021, WPD responded to 160,000 calls, Williams detailed, but force was enacted almost 300 times.

“This work is not always highly publicized,” the police chief said, before criticizing media for not noting the positive work in the department. “It is very disappointing at times when I see the negative side of stories so highly publicized without giving the same coverage to the peaceful situations, and the positive things that are occurring on a daily basis.”

Williams added, however, that ending situations in a peaceful manner may not always be the outcome, though it’s the department’s goal.  

“If a gun or other weapon is pointed at an officer or a third party, they may have to use deadly force so that they can go home safely to their family,” he said.

Officers searched Gray’s residence and found multiple shell casings, live rounds, and four firearms.

Gray was charged with going armed to the terror of people, breaking or entering attempt, and discharging a firearm in a reckless manner, and additional charges will come in regards to assault on an officer.

He is currently being held at the NHCSO Detention Center. 


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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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