Raul Alberto Rivera Obituary, Death; – A man who was killed during a gunfire exchange with deputies from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office outside Brevard on July 6 has been identified as 30-year-old Raul Alberto Rivera.
On the morning of July 7, a representative from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation informed the Times-News that officials from the bureau intended to meet with Rivera’s family at 10:30 a.m. to inform them of his death.
Deputies were dispatched on July 6 at approximately 12:30 a.m. following a call from a friend of Rivera, who requested a wellness check on him, as stated by Chad Flowers, the public information director for the State Bureau of Investigation, in an email.
According to Flowers, deputies located Rivera in a vehicle in the parking lot of a Pizza Hut located at 62 Pisgah Highway in Pisgah Forest, just outside Brevard.
Rivera fired at the deputies, striking one of their vehicles, prompting the deputies to return fire, which resulted in him being “mortally wounded,” as per a news release from the Transylvania Sheriff’s Office dated July 6. He was declared dead at the scene.
Fortunately, neither of the deputies involved sustained injuries, and both have been placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure in cases involving officer-involved shootings, according to the Sheriff’s Office news release.
Rivera’s remains were transported to the Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy, as indicated in a news release from the State Bureau of Investigation on July 7.
A representative from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office directed Times-News inquiries for further information and documentation to the State Bureau of Investigation on July 7. The bureau has yet to release an incident report or a recording of the call that requested the wellness check.
This story will be updated.
