Family questions death of 18-year-old shot by SBI agent in Apex for alleged shoplifting
An 18-year-old was shot and killed by a State Bureau of Investigation agent during an alleged shoplifting incident in Apex on Tuesday afternoon, according to the town’s police department.
Around 1:30 p.m., officers responded to Academy Sports and Outdoors in a shopping center on Pine Plaza Drive.
Apex Police Chief Jason Armstrong said Dayve Rafael Sanchez was found on the ground with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
He was with a woman who was not injured in the incident and has not been identified yet by authorities.
Police confirmed Rafael Sanchez’s identity in a Wednesday news release, which also named Denzel Ward, 29, as the SBI agent who shot him.
Rafael Sanchez attended Southern High School in Durham until the 10th grade and was currently working to get his high school diploma, according to his mother, Esperanza Rafael Sanchez, who spoke with The News & Observer in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I feel like our reasons to live have been taken away,” said Esperanza Rafael Sanchez in Spanish. “I know nothing can bring him back. He was everything to me.”
Armstrong said the incident started inside Academy Sports, when the woman with Sanchez allegedly tried to steal a box of ammunition from a counter. The pair then ran out of the store with the box.
“The SBI agent encountered the two individuals in the parking lot, and that is when the shooting occurred,” Armstrong said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “The SBI agent was the individual who shot the male in this interaction.”
The chief did not explain why the agent was at the store and what led to the shooting.
Police say the found a firearm next to Sanchez, which the police chief said they believe belonged to him.
Police haven’t charged the woman who was with Sanchez, who remains “in the care of medical professionals,” a news release stated.
Family questions shooting
Wednesday, Sanchez’s mother expressed her frustrations and questioned why the SBI agent shot her son.
“I want justice for my son,” Esperanza said. “He didn’t have to shoot him.”
Esperanza disputed the claims by Apex police and said her son didn’t own firearms. She also said her son paid for the items in the store and had a digital receipt for a $32 purchase made at Academy that day.
“I track his expenses,” she said. “I looked at his account and I know what he spends his money on.”
Esperanza said the woman who was with Davye was a friend that he had recently been spending time with. She said she had been concerned about the nature of their relationship but did not elaborate. The N&O has not been able to verify the woman’s identity and age with authorities.
Armstrong said he contacted Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and SBI leaders to “make sure we handle this with the utmost sensitivity since it was an officer-involved shooting.”
Armstrong said Freeman asked that the Apex Police Department take the lead on the investigation. He said officers were talking to witnesses who were in the parking lot at the time of the incident.
Shannon O’Toole, an agent with SBI, said Ward was on duty at the time of the shooting. He has since been placed on administrative duty while Apex police conduct its investigation and the SBI conducts its own internal investigation.
Fatal stabbing at Raleigh convenience store
This is the second death after an alleged shoplifting incident in the Triangle within a week.
On Thursday, Mark Garrity Jr. of Cary was stabbed at a downtown Raleigh convenience store. Store employees said an argument broke out after the store owner accused Garrity of stealing, media outlets reported. Garrity later died from his injures. He was 27.
Police had not announced any charges in that incident as of Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 5:48 PM.