Thread: N.C. Trooper Shot, Killed During Traffic Stop

N.C. Trooper Shot, Killed During Traffic Stop

Trooper With Highway Patrol For 2 Years, Officials Say

POSTED: 1:48 am EDT June 18, 2008
UPDATED: 1:08 pm EDT June 18, 2008

HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. -- Officials said that a North Carolina Highway Patrol officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop Tuesday night.

The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. on Interstate 40 near mile marker 33.


Highway Patrol officials say David Shawn Blanton was killed on Tuesday night. (June 18, 200

Officials with the North Carolina Highway Patrol said 24-year-old David Shawn Blanton was conducting a traffic stop when someone in the car he had pulled over shot him twice. They said one shot hit him in the shoulder and the other shot hit him in the arm.

Blanton was taken to Mission Hospitals in Asheville, but he did not survive, officials said.

Deputies said they arrested 37-year-old Edwardo Wong II not far from the scene of the shooting, near the intersection of Newfound Road and Scruggs Circle. They said Wong had three guns in his truck when he was arrested, one of which was Blanton's weapon.

Deputies said Wong's last known address is in Ormand Beach, Fla., and that he was driving back home when he was pulled over. They said no criminal record or outstanding warrants could be found on Wong.

Interstate 40 near Canton was closed for much of Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. It has since been reopened.

Blanton, who was from Cherokee, N.C., had been with the Highway Patrol for two years, officials said. They said he was recently married and had one child.

An autopsy for Blanton has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Wong was charged with murder. He was being held in a Haywood County jail under no bond. Deputies said they expect more charges to be filed against him.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is leading the shooting investigation.

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http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/16638872/detail.html

The article I just read stated:

Records from the Florida Department of Corrections incidate Wong has 19 criminal convictions dating to 1996 that include armed burglary, assault with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, sale and possession of marijuana and escape. He was incarcerated in Florida from 1998 to 2005.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16639882/detail.html


Nice guy to leave out on the street

Thank you for the updated information Dianne--am glad they caught him.

This is such a tragedy for the young trooper and his family.

Here are a couple things about the murderer.

http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2008 ... -dead.html

http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2008 ... -19th.html

A violent history. The trooper's wife has a child who is going through major medical issues and the community is trying to raise funds to help her with all of the expensive.

So sorry for Officer Blanton family. And I hope his newborn is doing better.