Sheriff promises to end violence after deputy shooting

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — For the first time in nearly a decade a New Hanover County Sheriff’s deputy was shot in the line of duty, and now Sheriff Ed McMahon is vowing to bring an end to the crime wave sweeping through the area.

“I think we have a gang problem period,” said New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon.

Law enforcement from multiple agencies flooded into Creekwood after Det. Spencer was shot by a suspect who remains unidentified by investigators.

“It hits very close to home,” said McMahon. “The community that we all live in has been dangerous recently, so we’ve been working as hard as we could and can and we’ve been sharing resources and collaborating together.”

But some people who live in the Creekwood public housing development say they don’t see that collaboration after every shooting.

“I think it’s a bunch of BS going on out here today,” said Quan Hayes. “They’ve got armored trucks, a hundred thousand police for one man. When kids get shot, a mother was just shot, they don’t do all this for regular people.”

For now Sheriff McMahon is promising to make a bad situation right.

“We will be making an arrest,” said McMahon. “We will not stop until we end this violence and that is a promise from me. We are going to clean up the areas and whatever that takes is what we’re going to be committed to doing.”