The State Bureau of Investigation on Friday identified the man shot after a seven-hour standoff days earlier at a Raleigh apartment.
Jason Thomas Lundwall, 52, was shot Tuesday by Deputy Michael Reitmann with the Wake County Sheriff's Office, according to the SBI. Lundwall, who investigators said barricaded himself inside an apartment, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
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On Tuesday morning, the Wake County Sheriff's Office evacuated several north Raleigh apartments in the 4000 block of Water Oak Drive after a resident refused to comply with an eviction notice.
"The game-changer was when the individual refused to leave," Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe said on Wednesday. "When an eviction's being done, the person is no longer in possession of that residence. The residence has been turned over to the rightful owner by the court system and they're given ample time to leave. We go in to carry out the final process."
Rowe said he feels secure his staff's handling of the situation was consistent with their policies.
"I’m always confident in the staff of the sheriff’s office as far as discharging duties," Rowe said. "That’s why training is so important, providing proper tools, the resources, the management, the trust. We’re confident that on a daily basis we discharge the duties of this office in a lawful professional humane manner."
Over the course of nearly seven hours, WCSO deputies communicated with the man by various means.
Out of an abundance of caution, deputies evacuated the surrounding apartments. Some tenants were allowed to return to their homes starting around 5 p.m.
Sky 5 flew over the scene at noon. Armored trucks were at the scene and guns were drawn.
At 5:30 p.m., members of the Sheriff’s Office entered the home in an attempt to remove the man. During that time, one deputy fired his weapon.
The suspect was taken to the hospital by Wake County EMS.
One neighbor told WRAL News a deputy knocked on their door and woke them up at 10:30 a.m., telling them to evacuate.
Broadcastify radio traffic provides more details. Officers can be heard saying, "Subject refusing to drop the gun, subject refusing to drop the gun."
Deputies can also be heard discussing how to enter the apartment, describing, "Access to the bedroom through the exterior window... we’re about to punch that out."
At one point, the deputies were heard talking about deploying "pepper balls" and "putting a robot together" to try to attempt entry.
Another neighbor told WRAL News he has lived at the complex for three years and has never seen anything like this before.
“We have requested the State Bureau of Investigation conduct an independent investigation into this incident," Sheriff Willie Rowe said. "Concurrently, we will be conducting an internal investigation and review to determine if our deputies followed the policies of this office."