Charles Robert Blackstock, a 30-year-old male officer with the Asheville Police Department, North Carolina, was shot and killed on November 13, 1906. Officer Blackstock responded to a call about a man with a rifle who had threatened to kill another man. When Officer Blackstock and another officer approached the suspect's home on Valley Street near Eagle Street, the suspect opened fire, striking Officer Blackstock in the chest and the other officer in the arm.
The suspect then fled the
scene, shooting at anyone he encountered. During the ensuing chaos, the suspect killed three citizens before Officer Bailey located him and attempted to take cover behind a utility pole. The suspect's shot went through the pole and struck Officer Bailey in the head. The suspect managed to escape but was later tracked down by a posse organized by the city and the Governor of North Carolina mobilized the local National Guard to assist in the search.
Two days after the incident, the suspect was found and killed in a shootout with posse members when they trapped him in a swamp outside Asheville. The suspect was identified as Will Harris, one of North Carolina's most notorious outlaws. Harris had escaped from two different chain gangs and had recently escaped from the state penitentiary in Raleigh, where he was serving a sentence for killing a man who refused to share his whiskey with him.
Officer Blackstock was survived by his wife and four children. His death was a tragic event that led to a significant manhunt and the eventual capture and killing of the suspect responsible for his death.
