PARKTON — As many as four law enforcement officers were pinned down by gunfire on Sunday during a standoff that ended with the death of the gunman, according to a press release by Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey.

The press release provides few details about what happened on Sunday at 96 Acadiana Drive, Parkton, where the standoff ended when lawmen found the body of Kevin Anthony Battaglia, 33, inside. Battaglia is a veteran who apparently spent time in Afghanistan, according to people in the neighborhood who knew him, but details of his service were not available, including the branch of the military he served.

It did not say whether Battaglia died from shots fired from law enforcement, or at his own hands.

The State Bureau of Investigation, as is routine in instances in which law enforcement officers fire their weapons, is leading the investigation.

According to Sealey, at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday deputies received a call from Acadiana Drive, off McIver Road, concerning a possible weapons violation. The Robesonian has been told from multiple sources that Battaglia has been seen in the public with a weapon and some of his Facebook posts were disturbing. Deputies, whom the release did not identify by name, were sent to do a “wellness check.” When they arrived, the homeowner — who was not identified by name — became “upset” and it “appeared that something was wrong,” according to the statement.

“He was armed, had a bullet-proof vest on, refused assistance and made threats to deputies,” the statement said.

A deputy called for a backup unit, and when patrol cars arrived, shots were fired and a standoff began during which four officers were pinned down for more than two hours.

The statement said that a highway patrolman was struck, but did not identify him. The Robesonian has learned he is Trooper Brian Strickland, who graduated from Patrol School in 2015, and that a bullet-proof vest prevented him from being injured.

The statement did not say how man law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, but multiple media reports have fixed the number at more than 50, including police from Parkton, Lumberton and Fayetteville, special response teams from Cumberland and Robeson County sheriff’s offices, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The statement said the standoff “went on for several hours,” but does not provide a time-frame. The statement did not mention it, but during that time a negotiator used a loudspeaker to try to persuade the person firing from inside the home to surrender peacefully.

The Robesonian has learned that the standoff began just after 3 p.m. and ended about 10:30 p.m., when the body was found. Bettaglia was alone in the home. According to the statement, during the standoff “several homes were struck by gunfire from the person shooting from the Acadiana Drive home.” Many homes in the neighborhood were ordered to be evacuated.

The Robesonian is continuing to do reporting to add details to this story.

Kevin Battaglia
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_kevin-battaglia-1.jpgKevin Battaglia

Donnie Douglas

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Editor Donnie Douglas can be reached at 910-416-5649.