No officers charged in December shooting of Kyle Horton

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The four law enforcement officers who shot a wanted suspect at a New Hanover County apartment complex will not face criminal charges.

“They encountered a very violent and dangerous suspect who, by all indications, was never going to be taken alive,” District Attorney Ben David said during a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Kyle Anthony Horton was fatally shot by law enforcement officers while he saw in a car in the parking lot of Briarcliff Villas on December 17.

David said a detective was following a lead that Horton could be in the Wilmington area. They went to Briarcliff Villas after learning Horton’s girlfriend lived in a home adjacent to the apartment complex.

The detective began surveillance and recognized Horton sitting inside a Ford Escape that was reported stolen from Charlotte during a kidnapping.

They watched as Horton’s girlfriend crossed the parking lot and got into the car with him.

Kyle Horton (Photo: NHSO/WWAY)

The detective called in the FBI Task Force and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. Two officers pulled up and blocked Horton’s car in.

Several other officer arrived and yelled, “Show us your hands!”  David said the girlfriend complied but Horton did not.

When the detective approached the passenger window, he saw Horton reach for a firearm.

David said the officer yelled, “Gun, gun!” and “Put your gun down!”

David said Horton did not comply and began to lift his gun, which is when the detective  fired his shotgun toward Horton through the passenger window. Horton was hit in the shoulder.

Horton continued to lift his gun and three other officers began firing their weapons at Horton from different angles.

Horton was hit 10 times, all four officers who fired their weapon hit him.

Horton’s girlfriend was removed from the car and was not hurt.

WWAY asked about law enforcement’s protocol when it comes to shooting a suspect when a bystander is in close proximity.

“Obviously officers have to make these decisions as they’re rapidly evolving. They’re trained to go for the suspect and avoid collateral damage,” David said. “As you can see this was a tightly contained area… they were able to fire upon him and miss her in the process. That’s what they’re trained for.”

The news conference also revealed that Horton shot himself during the confrontation.

The medical examiner determined Horton also had a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bottom of his chin. A bullet fragment was also found in the roof of the car, consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Spent shell casings were also found in the car. David said the autopsy revealed the self-inflicted gunshot would have been fatal.

“But at the end of the day, it was his violent conduct that drew this fire in, and he was actually the ultimate shooter in this case,” David said.

The SBI conducted their own investigation, as well as the FBI, because some of the officers were on the FBI Joint Task Force.

District Attorney Connie Jordan also provided more background on Horton’s criminal history and his actions in the month leading up to the shooting.

Horton was first arrested in 2009 for assault on a female and was released in 2010. In 2011, he was charged with attempted first degree murder, attempted armed robbery and assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. He was convicted in 2013 and spent six years in prison.

Horton was released from prison in August of 2019 and lived in Wilmington with his mother, Paula, while being monitored by the Department of Public Safety.

In November, Horton’s mother applied for a protection order against her son, saying he threatened to beat her like a man and also threatened that if the cops wanted to take him, they’d have to shoot him.

The following day, Horton’s mother had him involuntarily committed.

WWAY spoke with Paula Horton following the shooting. She said she had been trying desperately to get her son help for his drug addiction, even notifying his parole officer that he was using.

She said in November he went to a rehab facility but checked himself out after only one day.

On November 27, Paula reported that Kyle stole her keys and her car, as an attempt to get her son off the streets and to save his life.

“My life has been that child. He was desperate, he had a drug addiction,” Paula Horton said in December.

On December 13, Horton kidnapped and robbed a female at gunpoint in Charlotte and forced her to drive over state lines. In York County, she escaped and called police.

On December 17, Horton robbed a woman sitting in her car at Broadway at the Beach.

That night, he came to Wilmington to meet with his girlfriend at Briarcliff Villas.

“He texted and begged her to see him one last time,” Horton said. “He was crying in her arms before all this went down.”

David said he spoke with Paula Horton before the news conference to explain no one would be criminally charged in her son’s death.

David said the Horton is dead because of his own actions. In the weeks before he died, Horton told his mother “he wasn’t going back to prison. Officers will have to shoot me.”

Davis said the officers involved should be allowed to return to work as soon as possible.