Carolina Beach man who fired at police officers pleads guilty

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) –The man who fired at police officers in Carolina Beach last fall  is going to prison.

Today in a Pender County courtroom, Thomas Coulson, 22, pleaded guilty to these charges:

• three counts of attempted first degree murder
• three counts of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer
• two counts of discharging a weapon into occupied dwelling
• attempted discharging a firearm into an occupied conveyance in motion

On October 3, 2016 two Carolina Beach police officers and a Kure Beach police officer responded to 1610 Sea Ray Lane Unit #1 after a report of a home being struck by gunfire. When officers arrived, the homeowner showed them the bullet holes in his home.

The officers were standing in the car port underneath the home when they heard a loud bang, which they realized was gunfire coming from the home across the streets.

A bullet hit a key-ring holder on the utility belts of one of the Carolina Beach police officers. The bullet snapped the key-ring in half, before ricocheting through the officer’s holster and going through his pants. The officer was not hurt.

Another officer saw Coulson carrying an assault rifle aim the gun at him and start shooting multiple rounds at the officers before running around to the back of a trailer.

The officers called 911 and reported they were being shot at and were taking cover.

Coulson then rand into an open shed to another corner of the home.

Coulson continued to fire at officers when SABLE arrived. Coulson then began shooting at the helicopter with two officers on board.

The New Hanover County Emergency Response Team arrived at the scene at set up a staging area. Just before 3 p.m. the ERT went to extract the officers who were pinned down by the gunfire.

While this was happening, a man living in the neighborhood arrived and said his 15-year-old was home alone. Law enforcement went to provide cover for the father and daughter as they left the home. At this time, “a very large volume of gun fire began to erupt” and multiple shots were fired at officres.

Coulson then ran out of ammo and ran toward Pinfish Lane. Detectives saw Coulson run up to a red pickup truck and throw his weapon under the truck.

Two deputies with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office saw Coulson on Pinfish Lane. He refused to listen to their demands to get on the ground and instead stood in a shooting stance and held his hands in front as if he was holding a gun. Coulson then told law enforcement to shoot him.

The deputies noticed he wasn’t holding a gun that was later confirmed to be an inhaler. He was eventually tackled to the ground and taken into custody.

A judge sentenced Coulson to 10.41 months to 13.5 years in prison.