North Carolina Deputy, Suspect Wounded at Standoff

A caller told 911 dispatchers that Kevin Clifford Marks, 49, was armed with a shotgun, making threats and believed to be on meth.

Kevin Clifford Marks (Photo: Rutherford County Jail)Kevin Clifford Marks (Photo: Rutherford County Jail)

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is looking into a standoff that sent a Rutherford County deputy and a suspect to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

Rutherford County (N.C.) Sheriff Chris Francis said deputies responded to a home on Oak Forest Drive in Forest City shortly before 8 p.m. Monday. 

Francis said a caller told 911 dispatchers that Kevin Clifford Marks, 49, was armed with a shotgun, making threats and believed to be on meth.

Francis told WYFF TV that deputies tried to get Marks to leave the home, but he stayed inside. Investigators also learned Marks was a convicted felon with a working firearm.

A negotiator tried for hours to get Marks to come outside, Francis said. The sheriff said Marks started firing at deputies when they tried to enter using a ballistic shield.

The deputies retreated and negotiations continued over the next four hours as deputies contacted the Henderson County Sheriff's Office to borrow tools -- including an armored vehicle.

"Just prior to it arriving, (Marks) fired at deputies again," Francis said. "One of them was struck in the upper torso." He was taken to a local hospital, where he was reportedly in stable condition.

Francis said the exchange of gunfire continued between Rutherford County deputies and Marks. Eventually, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office used tear gas to get Marks to surrender. 

Marks was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that he was wounded during the incident.

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