ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has identified the man fatally shot by Asheville police after officers responded to reports of gunfire outside a downtown business early Wednesday morning.
The man was identified as Arturo Castillo Palomar, of Saluda, according to Chad Flowers, public information director for the SBI. Flowers said the man’s family has been notified.
The shooting happened around 2 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, in the parking lot near Shakeys, at 38 N. French Broad Ave. in downtown Asheville.
According to the SBI, Asheville police officers responded after receiving reports of shots fired. When officers arrived, they found “gunfire already underway” and saw a person “actively firing a weapon in the lot,” the agency said.
Officers returned fire, striking Castillo Palomar. Medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the SBI. No officers were injured.
The Asheville Police Department requested the SBI conduct an independent investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.
The SBI said its investigation remains ongoing. Once complete, the agency will submit its findings to the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether the officers’ use of deadly force was legally justified.
In a statement posted Wednesday, Shakeys said employees had earlier asked an individual “whose behavior caused concern” to leave the business.
The person was later seen in the parking lot with a firearm, the business said.
The business said staff and customers quickly moved inside, locked the doors and followed instructions from emergency dispatchers as gunfire erupted outside.
Wednesday’s shooting marks the third officer-involved shooting involving Asheville police in 2026.
The first occurred April 21, when officers responding to reports of an armed man at a south Asheville shopping center fatally shot a suspect after police said the man fired through a glass door at officers. The Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office later determined the officers’ use of deadly force was justified.
The second happened June 7 at Westmont Commons Apartments, where police said an officer shot a man who allegedly charged officers with a knife. That man survived.
The SBI also investigated both incidents.
