The man, who was the subject of a search warrant, died in what the sheriff’s office called a shooting with involved officer.
Further details were not immediately released. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is taking over the probe in the shooting, the sheriff’s office said.
Pasquotank County said it closed its office buildings in downtown Elizabeth City at 1 p.m. in response to the shooting.
The area’s prosecutor, R. Andrew Womble, told CNN he was aware of the shooting, which he said took place around 8:30 a.m.
In a statement, Womble said it did asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation “to assume primary responsibility for investigating the events surrounding the officer involved and processing the scene where the events took place, including but not limited to gathering physical evidence.”
Womble declined to comment further.
Elizabeth City has a population of about 18,000 and is located just west of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and about a 45-mile drive south of Norfolk, Virginia.
This is a story in development and will be updated.