Adam David Bean, a 42-year-old man from Hope Mills, North Carolina, died on March 27, 2026, after a late-night shooting at a home on Seattle Slew Lane. Bean was not a stranger to law enforcement or to the community around Cumberland County. He had served with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for about 20 years, rising from patrol deputy to Captain and Assistant Chief of Detectives. Before that, he had served in the U.S.
Army with the 82nd Airborne Division, including a tour in Iraq.
The shooting was reported shortly before 11 p.m. Deputies were called to the home and found Bean suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities described the incident as a domestic dispute involving two off-duty law enforcement officers and said it was not random, with no ongoing threat to the public. The State Bureau of Investigation took over the case because of the law enforcement involvement.
More details later emerged through search warrants. A witness, identified in reporting as Tara Lynn Whitman, told investigators that Bean arrived at her home upset after seeing a truck parked there. The truck allegedly belonged to Nekime Matu Oxendine, a sergeant with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. According to the warrants, Oxendine came out of the house holding a gun and first fired a shot into the ground. Moments later, he allegedly fired several more shots, striking Bean. When deputies arrived, Bean was reportedly lying in the front yard while Whitman was performing CPR.
Oxendine was publicly named in the warrants as the person a witness said shot Bean. He was described as an 18-year veteran of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and was placed on administrative leave while the investigation continued. The warrants indicated investigators were looking at possible first-degree and second-degree murder charges, but as of the latest available reporting, no one had been charged or arrested in Bean’s death.
Bean’s death left a sharp wound inside the sheriff’s office where he had spent most of his adult life. Colleagues described him as dedicated, dependable, and deeply committed to the people he served. His obituary remembered him as a natural leader with keen intelligence, sharp wit, and a love for learning and fixing things. He was also remembered as a father, a son, a brother, and someone whose loss was felt far beyond the scene of the shooting.
