ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Authorities have identified the man killed in an officer-involved shooting in Transylvania County over the weekend as 30-year-old Raul Alberto Rivera.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is leading the inquiry into the shooting, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of a Pizza Hut off Pisgah Highway in Pisgah Forest, officials said.
According to a statement from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, deputies had responded to a call for a welfare check and were attempting to locate a vehicle and its occupant. When deputies arrived at the scene, the suspect began firing at them, striking one of their vehicles, the statement said.
Deputies returned fire, fatally wounding Rivera, who was pronounced dead at the scene. No deputies were injured.
Rivera’s body has been sent to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. His family has been notified.
Two deputies have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol in such incidents, the sheriff’s office said.
The State Bureau of Investigation said no additional information would be released Monday.