Lexington police shoot man wanted on charges in North Carolina. What we know.

A 40-year-old man has life-threatening injuries after he was shot by Lexington police on Tuesday afternoon while officers were trying to make a traffic stop on a vehicle connected to felony warrants out of North Carolina, the Lexington Police Department said.

Police announced the shooting at an 8 p.m. news conference Tuesday. Police said three LPD officers fired at the man. Police didn’t say whether the man shot at or threatened the officers, but did say a gun was found near the suspect.

No officers were hurt.

Police didn’t immediately name the suspect or the officers, but said the suspect was wanted on prior warrants of first-degree kidnapping, assault by strangulation. discharge of a weapon on occupied property and other charges.

The incident happened about 4:30 p.m. in the area of Alumni Drive and Yellowstone Parkway, causing numerous LPD vehicles to be dispatched to Alumni Drive. The road was shut down between Man O’ War Boulevard and New Circle Road for hours while police investigated.

Lexington police said they received a Flock license plate reader alert at 2:29 p.m. Tuesday, notifying them that a vehicle associated with a person who had outstanding warrants out of North Carolina had been spotted in Lexington. Flock camera systems capture license plate images and other information about vehicles on the road and check it against online data to detect vehicles associated with crimes or missing persons cases.

After confirming with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office that the felony warrants were still active and had nationwide extradition, police said they used the Real-Time Intelligence Center to track the vehicle to Leestown Road near Forbes Road.

A drone and police helicopter were used to keep tabs on the location of the vehicle.

At 4:24 p.m., officers tried to initiate a traffic stop at Alumni and Yellowstone.

“Three officers fired towards the vehicle during the incident,” Lexington police said in a news release.

After the shooting, police said officers rendered aid to the man who was shot.

He was taken by ambulance to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, where he was in critical condition Tuesday night, Kentucky State Police said in a news release.

Lexington police said the officers who were involved in the shooting had their body-worn cameras activated, as department policy requires.

They will be placed on administrative assignments while the incident is investigated.

The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating, and an internal review by the LPD Public Integrity Unit will also be conducted, police said.

Lexington police said there were “numerous witnesses” to the shooting and said there were “several videos circulating on social media.”

They asked witnesses and people who got video to contact them by calling 859-258-3600 or submitting an anonymous tip through Bluegrass Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers can be reached by calling 859-253-2020 or visiting Bluegrasscrimestoppers.com.

More than 30 cruisers were at the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as Kentucky State Police, were seen at the scene of the incident.

Police used tape to block off the area they were investigating.

Two vehicles were in the intersection. One was a small red SUV, with its doors open, and the other was a dark passenger car. Both were facing inbound on Alumni Drive as police continued to investigate.

“KSP has statewide jurisdiction and investigates officer-involved shootings throughout the commonwealth as requested by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies,” state police said of their investigation. “KSP is committed to being transparent while ensuring the integrity of the investigation. To protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, it is KSP’s standard operating procedure not to release specific details until vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered. Timelines for completing investigations vary depending on the complexity of the case.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 5:09 PM.