GATES COUNTY, N.C. – A man later identified as an illegal immigrant on a terror watch list was involved in a four-hour standoff with law enforcement authorities in North Carolina last week, according to multiple reports.
Awet Hagos held deputies and troopers at bay for about four-hours last Monday. He is a citizen of the African nation of Eritrea who entered America illegally after a stay in Haiti, The Western Journal reported.
Hagos, 32, was arrested on March 11. He has been in the North Carolina area for the past six months illegally, according to officials.
Once Hagos’ fingerprints were checked, federal authorities reportedly discovered that he was on the terrorist watch list, reported Fox News.
A representative for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Hagos “entered the United States as a nonimmigrant in 2016 and violated terms of admission,” according to the News & Observer.
On March 11 at about 6:40 p.m., deputies with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a convenience store regarding a report of a part-time employee firing a gun outside the business, according to Sheriff Ray Campbell, the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald reported.
“Upon arrival, the deputies and a Trooper with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol attempted to take the suspect into custody,” Sheriff Campbell said.
“However, the suspect became extremely combative and at one point attempted to disarm a deputy of their firearm. The suspect then fled into a small camper located adjacent to the business,” the sheriff said.
“At first we believed he was still inside the camper, but thanks to the Ahoskie Police, their drone, that has an infrared camera, spotted him attempting to crawl out from underneath a home next door,” Campbell said. “That allowed us to focus our attention there and we were able to get him to come out.”
Nevertheless, the standoff lasted about four hours before the man surrendered, according to authorities.
Following Hagos’ arrest, he was charged with three counts of assault on a government official, three counts of resisting a public officer and carrying a concealed weapon. He was booked into jail and held on a $100,000 bond.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was unhappy that local law enforcement officials had to deal with a “violent illegal immigrant,” the Carolina Journal reported.
As a result, the gubernatorial candidate sent a letter to President Joe Biden seeking answers and challenging the president’s border policy.
“This incident raises a number of serious questions that deserve to be addressed urgently,” the letter read, according to Fox News.
“I called on President Biden to give immediate answers,” Robinson said “How did Hagos enter the United States? How did Hagos get to North Carolina? Did he travel by air, interstate, or rail? Are there other places that he’s been in our state that he’s traveled to or through, and should those areas be on alert?”
Robinson’s letter is largely symbolic since he notes that even elected officials in Washington, D.C. cannot get answers from the president.
“The silence from the Biden administration on this situation is not an isolated incident,” he said. “Not even our elected officials in Congress or the Senate have been able to get any answers from him.”
