North Carolina Used Blue Alert After Officer Fatally Shot

(TNS) – Shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday night, the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons activated an emergency message after an off-duty police officer was fatally shot at a gas station west of Greensboro. The notification said a Black Chevrolet Equinox, last seen driving west on Interstate 40, was associated with the shooting.

On Sunday, the Greensboro Police Department said the officer killed was Sergeant Philip Dale Nix and that three people have been arrested in connection with Nix’s death.

The mass message, known as a Blue Alert, was active until 7:52 p.m. Saturday.

What is a Blue Alert?

The alerts are used when a law enforcement officer is either killed or seriously injured and the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the incident believes the suspects pose threats to the public or other officers. The head of the law enforcement agency then recommends the Center for Missing Persons send a Blue Alert.

Television and radio stations broadcast the notifications, and the Center works with the state division of emergency management and department of transportation to disseminate the news.

Have Blue Alerts been used in North Carolina before?

According to the N.C. Center for Missing Persons archives, Saturday’s message was the first Blue Alert ever sent in North Carolina.

Why does North Carolina have Blue Alerts?

The system dates back to May 2015, when President Barack Obama signed a national Blue Alerts law. The legislation came a few months after two New York City Police Detectives were killed in their patrol cars.

In 2016, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a law creating the North Carolina Blue Alert System, which follows similar protocols as well-known Center for Missing Persons systems like AMBER and Silver Alerts.

“This Blue Alert system is intended to aid in swiftly apprehending a dangerous suspect and doing so safely,” then- N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks said in 2017. “I am delighted that we have this new system. It is an excellent way to ask for the public’s help in providing leads to help law enforcement locate the assailant, as well as keeping the public safe from danger.”

According to the Center, North Carolina is one of 27 states with Blue Alerts.

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