QUESTION: What transpired in the Mill Creek subdivision in Mebane, where an older man was seen walking through neighborhood carrying an AR-15, as well as multiple rounds of
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ammunition, a pistol, and a pocket knife. He was in the neighborhood between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. before Mebane police arrived. All we know is that he’s from Haw River, has dementia, and was on a mission, but Mebane police aren’t giving many details.
ANSWER: The Alamance News has been told that the subject recently seen carrying an assault-style rifle through Mill Creek was a 78-year-old man from Haw River who has dementia.
Mebane police chief Mitch McKinney confirmed Wednesday for The Alamance News that a man had been located near Saint Andrews Drive, in the Mill Creek subdivision, the morning of Monday, September 2 (Labor Day), and that the man had been armed with an AR-15, a lightweight semi-automatic rifle.
The police chief stressed, however, that the weapon was not loaded, and no other weapons were found during the encounter. It was unclear how long the man had been in the Mill Creek subdivision, or why he was armed, McKinney told the newspaper. The chief said Mebane police officers had arrived at the scene “within a few minutes” of receiving a call at 7:55 a.m. on Labor Day morning.
“When we interacted with him, he was pleasant; he was polite; and it was clear he was having some type of cognitive difficulty,” McKinney elaborated Wednesday in a lengthy interview with The Alamance News. Mebane police contacted the man’s family and immediately transported him for a mental health evaluation, the chief explained.
McKinney said he is prohibited by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) from discussing specific details of the incident, including the man’s identity, because the individual involved was experiencing a medical condition, though he said it ultimately resulted in an involuntary commitment.
“He has no criminal record; this has never happened before,” McKinney added, referring to the September 2 incident at Mill Creek. “It was truly tied to his medical condition.”
The police chief said no charges were filed in connection with the incident because North Carolina is an “open carry” state.
“Open carry is not a crime,” McKinney explained in the interview. “With any crime, you have to have criminal intent.”
“We also empathetically understand that, [for] some members of the community, the anxiety was up,” McKinney said, adding that Mebane police later met with the Mill Creek Homeowners’ Association and community members to try to ease their concerns.
North Carolina’s open carry laws allow any private citizen who’s legally eligible to own a firearm to carry one without a permit in public areas, with the exception of educational property, government buildings, or any private property where “no weapons” signs are posted, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. State law also prohibits open carry (by individuals other than sworn law enforcement) at parades, funeral processions, or protests.
State law only requires a valid form of identification and passage of a federal background check – but not a permit – to purchase rifles or shotguns. The General Assembly also passed legislation in 2023 that repealed the state’s pistol permit law, eliminating the previous requirement to obtain a permit and pass a background check in order to buy a handgun in North Carolina.
A North Carolina citizen can also purchase a firearm in another state, provided he or she undergoes a background check that satisfies the legal requirements for the state of purchase, to include an inquiry of the National Instant Background Check System (NICS), according to the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association.
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