LUMBERTON — A Lumberton police officer who shot and seriously injured a woman Tuesday night has been put on administrative leave.

Officer Daniel Smith was placed on leave Tuesday, City Attorney Holt Moore confirmed in response to a public records request from The Robesonian.

Smith, who is 32, began working with the Lumberton Police Department in April 2015. Smith is black. The Robesonian typically does not report race unless it is integral to the story. In this instance, because of a number of deadly encounters between police and young black males in this country that have been widely reported, the newspaper felt the officer’s race was important.

Lumberton Police Chief Mike McNeill confirmed that the officer-involved shooting occurred at Dollar General on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Few other details have been made available, with the State Bureau of Investigation taking over the case. The agency could not be reached Tuesday or Wednesday and had not released any details by The Robesonian’s deadline. The Lumberton Police Department has referred questions to the SBI.

Multiple sources told The Robesonian that the woman shot by Smith was suspect in several thefts. Smith reportedly saw her vehicle and followed her to the Dollar General, where she attempted to run him over. Witnesses say the officer then fired into her truck, which investigators inspected Tuesday night.

No information has been released about the woman’s condition.

The last time a Lumberton police officer fatally shot someone was in 2010. Officers shot and injured an armed man at a Fayetteville Road apartment in June 2015.

Staff Report