POLICE: 54-year-old Pittsboro man charged in connection with SECU incident

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UPDATE: Friday, 3:50 p.m.

Pittsboro police said Friday afternoon that there were shots fired and everyone inside the State Employees Credit Union had evacuated the building except the bank manager before the incident.

According to a press release, suspect Kevin Laliberte, 54, of Pittsboro, "allegedly fired a handgun inside the credit union and held the manager against his will." Pittsboro police responded to a shots fired call around 11:43 a.m. Thursday at the SECU.

After numerous law enforcement agencies gathered at the scene, Laliberte said he would only talk with N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper Rodney Cook. Cook arrived and worked with negotiators from the Chatham County Sheriff's Office to negotiate Laliberte's surrender.

After his arrest, Laliberte was charged with one count of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, 15 counts of discharging a weapon into occupied property and one count of injury to real property. The press release said the case is still being investigated and "additional charges may be filed."

"I would like to express how grateful I am for all the cooperation and assistance the PPD received from all Law Enforcement Agencies, Emergency Responders and the support of the community during this incident," Pittsboro Police Chief Percy Crutchfield said in the statement. "We are very grateful that no one was injured, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. This is largely due to Trooper Cooks' professionalism and the reputation he has as a law enforcement officer."

The press release added that members of the Pittsboro Police Department, Chatham County Sheriff's Office, State Highway Patrol, First Health EMS, Chatham County Emergency Management and the Federal Bureau of Investigation all responded in some way to the incident.

UPDATE: Friday, 7:18 a.m.

Law enforcement sources say a 54-year-old Pittsboro man has been booked into the Chatham County Detention Center in connection with Thursday’s stand-off at the State Employees Credit Union in Pittsboro.

Kevin Francis Laliberte of 364 West St., Apt F, Pittsboro, was arrested and charged late Thursday night with felony second-degree kidnapping, felony discharge of a weapon inside occupied property, felony possession of a firearm by a felon, misdemeanor carrying a concealed gun, and misdemeanor injury to real property. No robbery charges were filed.

He was placed under a $1,000,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Chatham County District Court in Pittsboro on September 25.

UPDATE: Thursday, 3:24 p.m.

The Pittsboro Police Department tweeted out this update earlier this hour:

"From Chief Crutchfield:

The Pittsboro Police Department responded to an incident today at the State Employees Credit Union. Chatham Co SO and FBI cooperated in the safe resolution of the incident. 1 suspect in custody; no injuries

More information released in the future."

Update: Thursday, 1:24 p.m.

PITTSBORO — It appears the seige at the State Employee Credit Union, located at 35 Industrial Park Drive in Pittsboro has ended. Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry provided the latest update to the situation.

Here's what has happened to the best of her knowledge.

Perry notes that at some time this afternoon, a white male entered the State Employee Credit Union in Pittsboro. The male then ordered all people in the bank to leave except the bank manager.

Law enforcement was soon on the scene.

Sometime later, the bank manager was released. The white male later surrendered to law enforcement and was taken into custody.

"We all thought nothing like this would happen in Pittsboro, but I guess we were wrong," Perry said. "I am very please with the colloaboration of law enforcement agencies for resolving this situation."

Sources in Pittsboro note that shots were fired, but no one was injured.

Posted: Thursday, 12:57 p.m.

PITTSBORO — Law enforcement appears to have one person in handcuffs in the area around the State Employees Credit Union in Pittsboro. Sheriff's Office continues to ask people to stay away from the area. This is an active and ongoing situation. Unconfirmed reports from multiple sources have told the News + Record of a possible robbery and hostage situation, but this has NOT been confirmed by law enforcement. We'll continue to update this story on our Facebook page and here; for a live update, please check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChathamNR/.