Who is Tripp Walker Scheckells, Man Shot By Holly Springs Police?

A suspect shot at by police in Holly Springs, North Carolina outside a Target on Thursday has been ID’d as Tripp Walker Scheckells.

Scheckells was loitering outside the Target store in Holly Springs around 4 a.m. prompting calls to 911.

When authorities arrived, he attempted to pull out a handgun, leading to being shot by officers.

Scheckells is currently in hospital although his current condition is not clear.

More details below.

Who is Tripp Walker Scheckells Holly Springs?

Tripp Walker Scheckells, 23, is facing charges of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government officer and one count of carrying a concealed gun following a shootout with officers of the Holly Springs Police Department in North Carolina.

Holly Springs police received a call before 4 a.m. Thursday to the Target store at 100 Grand Hill Place about a person outside the closed main entrance of the store.

Two uniformed officers arrived in a marked car and approached the man.

Police said he reached into his clothing and pulled out a handgun when he saw the officers approaching, prompting both officers to shoot at him.

Tripp Walker Scheckells was shot and injured in the lower back.

The officers performed emergency medical aid until additional first responders arrived and rushed Scheckells to a hospital.

According to the suspect’s mother, her son was taken to WakeMed today but officers would not let her into his room.

Scheckells, 23, is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government officer and one count of carrying a concealed gun.

Holly Springs police identified the officers involved as Cozy Jackson and Anthony Minchella.

Jackson transferred to the Holly Springs Police Department in January 2024 after 2.5 years years of prior law enforcement experience with another North Carolina agency. Minchella has worked for the Holly Springs Police Department since August 2014.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, in accordance with department policy pending an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). It is standard procedure in all officer-involved shootings.

The Holly Springs Police Department is fully cooperating with the SBI to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation.

Police said there is no further threat to the public.

“Very quickly after encountering the subject, he presented a firearm, and in response both officers discharged their service weapons, striking the individual,” police wrote in a release.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is now in charge of the case.

“We are committed to cooperating with a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the shooting. We understand the impact of such incidents on our community and are dedicated to maintaining the trust and safety of Holly Springs residents,” said Holly Springs Chief of Police, Paul J. Liquorie.

According to WRAL, this is not Scheckells’ first encounter with law enforcement this week.

On Tuesday, Wake County sheriff’s deputies arrested him for one count of carrying a concealed gun.

Related shooting

Tripp Walker Scheckells is lucky to be alive as a similar officer-involved shooting recently had a different outcome.

John Piazza, 41, an Iowa man was shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting at Victory Motors in Waterloo.

Piazza reportedly pointed his weapon in an employee’s face and fired a round at the property the business is located on which is just in front of his residence.

He then left for his residence vowing to ‘return with a rifle’.

911 was called after this and when authorities arrived, they found Piazza brandishing a rifle at his residence.

He aimed his gun at officers when he realized he had been surrounded and an officer opened fire at him and struck him.

“On March 25, 2024, the Waterloo Police Department requested the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred at 1204 Hartman Avenue in Waterloo,” the Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

john piazza, waterloo man dead in officer involved shooting identified

“At 2:46 p.m., employees at Victory Motors, located at 2701 Falls Avenue, called 911 to report that a neighbor, later identified as John Piazza, age 41, of 1204 Hartman Avenue in Waterloo, put a gun to an employee’s face and fired a round at the property.

“Employees stated Piazza told them he would return with a rifle. Employees reported he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, had a long beard, and was bald.

“Waterloo PD responded to 1204 Hartman Avenue, just behind Victory Motors, and observed a male fitting the description near the windows of the residence with a long gun.

“A Waterloo police officer observed Piazza point a long gun out of a window towards officers. The officer fired at Piazza, striking him. Officers entered the residence and found Piazza deceased.

“This incident remains under investigation. Upon completion, the Iowa DCI will forward the results of the investigation to the Blackhawk County Attorney’s Office for review,” the statement concluded.

Holly Springs

Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010.

The town’s name refers to the free-flowing springs that merge into a stream and small lake surrounded by large, mature holly trees.

The Tuscarora Indians used the area around Holly Springs as a hunting ground prior to colonial settlement.

This tribe fled North Carolina around 1720 to escape the influx of Europeans, and eventually became the sixth nation of the Iroquois.

The town of Holly Springs grew around freshwater springs, believed to be the original “holly springs”, near the intersection of what is now Avent Ferry Road and Cass Holt Road.

These roads linked Raleigh to the Cape Fear River and ultimately to Fayetteville, as well as linking Hillsborough to Smithfield.

As of the census of 2010, 24,661 people, 8,147 households, and 6,706 families lived in the town.

In the 2000 census, 9,192 people, 3,316 households, and 2,609 families resided in the town, demonstrating a large rate of growth during the subsequent decade.

The town had 8,658 housing units in 2010, an increase from only 3,642 housing units in 2000.

The racial makeup of the town was 79.8% White, 12.6% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 1.8% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 6.30% of the population.

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