Police Officer Shot and Killed at Food Lion in North Carolina

A police officer was shot and killed on Dec. 23 after responding to a call about a man with a gun in a Food Lion in Greensboro, N.C.

Officer Michael Horan was answering a call just before 11 a.m. about a man with a firearm inside the grocery store on Lawndale Drive. 

The State Bureau of Investigation said that shortly after Horan arrived, he encountered the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Tarell Isaac McMillian, and a brief struggle ensued. Greensboro police said that McMillian then shot the officer before getting in a car and driving away. He led police on a high-speed chase before he was eventually taken into custody hours later, 150 miles away from the grocery store.

McMillian is charged with first-degree murder. Circumstances of what led to the deadly shooting are still being investigated.

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Horan became a sworn officer with the Greensboro Police Department in early 2018, and he served on the Patrol Bureau in District 4, on Squad A.

Prior to joining the Greensboro Police Department, Horan had worked for Beach Haven Beach Patrol in New Jersey for more than two decades. 

Greensboro City Manager Trey Davis said at a press conference that Horan “had an outstanding reputation inside the department and the community." Horan was also a husband and father. The Greensboro Police Officer Association has set up a fundraiser online to support Horan's family.

After temporarily closing its doors due to the deadly incident, the Greensboro Food Lion reopened on Dec. 26. Food Lion is a banner of Ahold Delhaize USA.