Stolen AR-15 was found at the scene where SBI agent shot and killed a teen in Apex

Apex police have released new details in the Tuesday shooting death of a teenager by a State Bureau of Investigation agent.

Police Chief Jason Armstrong said Thursday that a stolen AR-15-style rifle was found on the ground at the scene of the shooting outside Academy Sports that left 18-year-old Dayve Rafael Sanchez dead.

The rifle had been recently reported stolen from Siler City, Armstrong said. He also said it’s not clear if it was loaded or if it was used to threaten Denzel Ward, the SBI agent who shot and killed Sanchez.

An unidentified woman involved also had a gun but did not brandish it criminally, Armstrong said. Before the shooting, she was talking at the gun counter with a clerk at Academy Sports.

Police said earlier this week that Sanchez and an unnamed woman were attempting to steal ammunition from Academy Sports. When they left the store, they encountered Ward in the parking lot. Ward then shot Sanchez.

Armstrong said Thursday that the ammunition allegedly stolen would fit in the stolen AR-15.

Why the SBI agent was at the scene

Armstrong stated Thursday that Ward was at Academy Sports shopping and made a purchase right before the shooting.

“He never made it inside his vehicle,” Armstrong said of Ward. “He was outside his vehicle when his attention was directed to the individuals running out of the store. He ran over to intervene.”

He was not watching Sanchez or the woman involved, Armstrong said. “He just happened to be there.”

“It was all centered around them running out of the store after the shoplifting,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said Thursday that Ward was outside his vehicle, and Sanchez and the woman were inside another vehicle. It’s unclear if Ward attempted to de-escalate the situation before the shooting.

The police department is still not identifying the woman involved and wants to interview her as part of the investigation.

“She is in the care of medical professionals,” Armstrong said.

Sanchez’s autopsy has not yet been completed.

“That’s another piece of the investigation that we don’t have right now,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong also said that there’s no timetable for when the investigation will be completed.

911 calls from the scene released

On Wednesday evening, Apex police released six 911 calls from the moments after the shooting. Callers frantically relayed to dispatchers that a young man had been shot in the parking lot of Academy Sports and that he was “not moving.”

Police later confirmed that the shooter was an SBI agent who was on duty at the time of the shooting.

Ward has since been placed on administrative leave, according to Shannon O’Toole, a special agent with the SBI’s financial crime investigations unit.

This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 11:40 AM.