The man, the subject of a search warrant, died in what the sheriff’s office called a shooting involving an officer.
No further details were released immediately. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the shooting investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
Pasquotank County says it was closing its office buildings in downtown Elizabeth City at 1 p.m. in response to the shooting.
Area District Attorney R. Andrew Womble told CNN he was aware of the shooting, which he said happened around 8:30 p.m.
In a statement, Womble said asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to “assume primary responsibility for investigating the facts surrounding the officer involved in the shooting and to prosecute the scene where the events took place, including between others, the collection of physical evidence. “
Womble declined to comment further.
Elizabeth City has about 18,000 residents and is located west of the outlying banks of North Carolina and about a 45-mile drive south of Norfolk, Virginia.
This is a story in development and will be updated.