SBI: Man rammed cruiser before deadly deputy-involved shooting

HICKORY, N.C. — A Catawba County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man Monday after the suspect struck a patrol car, officials said.

[ PHOTOS: Authorities investigate officer-involved shooting in Hickory ]

The Catawba County Sheriff's Office said some members of the narcotics division had been conducting a drug investigation on 15th Street NE in Hickory when they encountered Ray Valentine, 41, State Bureau of Investigation officials said in a news release.

Valentine attempted to flee in his vehicle when he struck a patrol car, heavily damaging it, SBI officials said.

That was when a deputy shot and killed him.

The State Bureau of Investigation is now conducting an investigation into what led up to the shooting.

Brian Killian said he had been in his house when he heard several loud shots ring out.

"Out of nowhere, sounded like maybe a crash first and then I heard about eight shots," Killian said. "It was one after another -- pow pow pow pow pow pow pow."

He rushed outside after hearing the gunshots.

"There was a car in my backyard and then that was it. They wouldn't let me back in the house," Killian said.

No deputies were injured.

Family friend Keisha Collins went Tuesday to the neighborhood to where Valentine had been shot to pay her respects.

"(Just) seeing his daughter at the hospital last night, his baby girl, not realizing her father is gone," Collins said.

Friends told Channel 9 this wasn't the first time Valentine had been shot by law enforcement. Channel 9's Alexa Ashwell checked and found out he had been shot by a Hickory police officer in 2011.

Officials said in that encounter Valentine refused stop his car. They said after a chase he refused to take his hands out of his pockets. No charges were filed against the officer who shot him.

Officials have not identified the deputy who shot and killed Valentine.

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