The suspect in the deadly shooting of a police officer at a supermarket shop appeared in court on Thursday.
Tarell Isaac McMillian, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Greensboro police officer Michael Horan at a Food Lion on Monday.
Horan was slain while responding to a call about a guy with a gun in a Food Lion store, according to authorities.
McMillian is also facing additional counts in connection with the vehicle pursuit that led to his arrest in Duplin County, located approximately 150 miles southeast of Greensboro in the state’s center region.
Online court records do not show an attorney who could speak on McMillian’s behalf. Police said they were not looking for anyone else in the probe.
Horan was responding to a call when he was shot shortly before noon at a Food Lion in Greensboro. Authorities confirmed Monday afternoon that the circumstances of the shooting are still being investigated.
The North Carolina State Bureau of inquiry, the state’s primary law enforcement agency, is conducting the inquiry.
Horan joined the Greensboro Police Department in 2017 and was sworn in as an officer in early 2018, according to Assistant Police Chief Milford J. Harris.
Horan worked in the department’s patrol bureau. His LinkedIn page also shows that he has been a member of the United States Coast Guard since 2000.
“He was an exceptional cop. “He had an excellent reputation both within the department and in the community,” Harris said at a news conference.
Later on Monday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper expressed his sympathies to Horan’s family and fellow officers, stating the dead officer was “courageously doing his duty protecting Greensboro when he became the victim of a senseless act of violence.” He expressed gratitude for Horan’s “brave, dedicated service.”
The store will stay closed while authorities do their investigation, Food Lion said in a statement, adding that it is providing support to concerned employees.