1 dead, 2 in custody after officer-involved shooting at Lenoir Walmart

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By Dave Faherty

LENOIR, N.C. — A man was shot and killed Tuesday after firing at officers at the Lenoir Walmart, authorities said.

The shooting stemmed from a police investigation into car break-ins in the parking lot.

[ PHOTOS: 1 in custody after shooting in Lenoir Walmart parking lot ]

Nivins turned toward the officers while running and fired at least one shot, police said. An officer chased him and got into a physical struggle with Nivins while trying to stop him.

Police encountered Natasha Rae Stanley, Jose Alberto Flores and Carl Nivins inside the store.

Nivins fled and pulled out a .38 caliber revolver from his waistband as a police officer was staged at the exit, authorities said.

The officer at the exit returned fire, shooting and killing Nivins.

Stanley and Flores were arrested on outstanding warrants from Burke County on unrelated charges.

"I am as thankful for the safety of these officers as I think I've been ever in my career," Lenoir Police Chief Scott Brown said. “I've been doing this 30 years. These officers are heroes. They did a great job protecting the people in Walmart today."

A witness said Nivins pulled a gun on the officers before he was shot.

It appeared that the shot fired inside the Blowing Rock Boulevard store went through a wall into the arcade area.

Dozens of people were inside the store and a few were outside when the shots were fired.

"There was a man and woman being handcuffed. And then maybe 30 seconds after that, I heard 'He's running,' and I saw an officer take off, and then the next thing I heard was one pop, and I walked by and saw the guy lying face down outside the store,” Shaun Helton said.

Officials reviewed the officers' body cameras and store surveillance video.

"The video and audio from these systems along with the surveillance video from Walmart confirm the evidence at the scene and paint a clear picture of what occurred," police said in a news release.

State Bureau of Investigation officials are overseeing the investigation.

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