A North Carolina sheriff says 2 of his deputies and a suspect were shot

MAXTON, N.C. (AP) — Two sheriff’s deputies from a southeastern North Carolina county were shot on Tuesday, the local sheriff’s office said.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post that Sheriff Burnis Wilkins confirmed the deputies had been shot in an area outside of Maxton, which is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh close to the South Carolina border.

The deputies were being treated at undisclosed locations, and what the sheriff’s office called a suspect also was shot and was being flown to an undisclosed location as well, the news release said.

Wilkins and the local district attorney were at the shooting scene, and the sheriff’s office had requested assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as the State Bureau of Investigation, the release said.

Officers had cordoned off a home with yellow police tape, WPDE-TV reported.