Carteret authorities investigate shooting death

Blake Hackworth, 45, of 144 Mary Ella Drive, Harkers Island died Sunday night at Carteret General Hospital after being shot in the head, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office said.

Chief Deputy Ken Raper said Hackworth had reportedly been exhibiting aggressive behavior during the day and had been making overt threats to his parents.

“He had been very combative throughout most of the day and things just kept escalating,” Raper said.

Raper said Hackworth’s parents, whose names were not released, feared for their safety.

The shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. after Hackworth went after his parents with a crutch and threatened to kill them, authorities said.

A review of the incident was still under way Monday, but preliminary information indicated the father “was defending his life and his wife’s life and acted in that manner,” Raper said.

Raper said the mother called 911 and the family has been fully cooperative in the investigation.

“It’s just very unfortunate that something like this happened,” he said.

An autopsy was scheduled to be done Monday.

Raper said investigators talked with the parents until early Monday morning and were continuing to gather all information they could.

No charges have been filed at this time pending further investigation by the sheriff’s office and a review by the district attorney’s office.

Contact Jannette Pippin at 910-382-2557 or jpippin@freedomenc.com.