Concord PD: Man Charged Officers With Knife Before Being Shot

CONCORD, N.C.,None — Concord police officers fatally shot a man after he charged at them with a knife, the Concord Police Department said.

The shooting happened a little after 10 a.m. on Friday near the intersection of Tribune Avenue and Dayvault Street. Officers were responding to a call on Tribune Avenue in which the "obviously upset" male caller said another man was stabbing a woman, that he thought the woman was dead and that the man was continuing to stab her, the department said.

Dispatchers were unable to get any more information from the caller, according to the department.

As officers arrived and got out of their vehicles, 52-year-old Dennis Holland, Jr. charged toward them while wielding a large butcher knife, the department said. He appeared to have a bright red stain on the front of his shirt and was screaming incoherently, police said. Officers L.R. Hubbard and John Parker told Holland to drop the knife, but he continued to charge toward them, according to police.

Both officers then fired at Holland, the department said. He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center Northeast for treatment, where he later died. No officers were injured in the incident.

Police searched the area and did not find a woman who had been stabbed. The department said preliminary information indicates the phone used to make the 911 call belonged to Holland.

Doris Stafford told Eyewitness News that her mother was with Holland, but that she was not hurt. She said Holland was "a nice guy. He was cool. He seemed like no harm to my mama."

The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct an investigation into the incident and the Concord Police Department will conduct a separate internal investigation.

Hubbard, a 12-year veteran of the department, and Parker, a six-year veteran of the department, have been placed on administrative duties until the findings of the internal investigation are complete.

"This is a traumatic situation for everyone involved," Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton said. "Investigations are under way and will provide a complete picture of this incident but initial indications are the officers acted appropriately."

WSOC