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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Inmate fatally shoots North Carolina officer before being caught in | |
stolen vehicle, sheriff says | |
By Associated Press | |
Updated: | |
9:49 PM EDT, Mon June 30, 2025 | |
Source: AP | |
A federal inmate escaped from custody at a medical clinic in western | |
North Carolina and fatally shot a detention officer with his own gun | |
Monday, then fled in a stolen vehicle before being captured in another | |
county, a sheriff said. | |
The inmate had been taken to an orthopedics office in Murphy for | |
undisclosed treatment when a scuffle began. The inmate took the | |
officer’s weapon and shot him, Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith | |
said at a news conference. The inmate ran into the parking lot, jumped | |
into a vehicle that had just arrived and took off. The inmate was later | |
apprehended in Macon County, nearly an hour to the east, Smith said. | |
Smith said the inmate, Kelvin Simmons, 48, will be charged with | |
first-degree murder. | |
The detention officer was identified as Francisco Paul Flattes, 56, a | |
four-year employee of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. Smith | |
said Flattes’ wife also works for the county detention center. | |
Another officer suffered injuries unrelated to the shooting and was | |
recovering, the sheriff said. | |
“This has been probably one of the worst days of my career,” Smith | |
said. | |
Emergency personnel in Clay County had alerted Macon County deputies | |
that the inmate was driving to their county on U.S. Route 64, | |
authorities said. Simmons’ vehicle was stopped and he was detained | |
after a short standoff. There were no injuries at the scene. | |
Smith said Simmons was already being held on bank robbery charges along | |
with an October 2024 escape. | |
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