UPDATE: Officer who shot and killed suspect outside Pineville bar will not face criminal charges

UPDATE:

PINEVILLE, NC – A Pineville police officer who shot and killed a suspect outside a bar will not face criminal charges.

Officer Kyle McClure shot Colton Floren outside of Tavern 51 at around 3:45 p.m. on January 11, 2025.

A customer called 911 saying another customer had guns and was threatening to kill people inside the bar.

When the officer arrived, he encountered Floren in the parking lot.

Police said the officer gave up to 13 verbal commands which Floren did not comply with.

The officer fired his weapon after he says Flroen made a sudden gesture, which the officer perceived as an imminent threat to himself and others nearby.

District Attorney Spencer Merriweather reviewed the case.

Here are his findings:

Officer McClure believed the decedent to be in possession of a weapon and, given the quickly closing distance between himself and the decedent, did not believe it safe to holster his weapon and subdue the decedent in light of the brief amount of time it would take for the decedent to draw one of the firearms Officer McClure reasonably believed the decedent to possess.

The available evidence in this case leaves the State wholly unlikely to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer McClure did not act in defense of himself or others.

A jury could certainly find that Officer McClure reasonably believed an armed subject was approaching him at gunpoint with uncertain intentions in defiance of clear commands to stop.

Similarly, a jury could reasonably determine that it would be illogical to expect Officer McClure to holster his weapon to attempt to subdue the decedent and risk the decedent drawing and firing one of the firearms Officer McClure reasonably—even if erroneously—believed the decedent had in his possession. Accordingly, the State could not viably meet its evidentiary burden at a potential trial and will not pursue criminal charges related to the death of Colton Floren.

ORIGINAL STORY (POSTED 1/13/25)

PINEVILLE, NC – A Pineville police officer shot and killed a suspect outside a bar on Saturday afternoon. That suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Colton Floren.

It happened in the parking lot of Tavern 51 in the Tower Place Festival shopping center off Pineville-Matthews Road near Park Road.

Around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, police received a 911 call about a suspect inside Tavern 51 that allegedly pulled out a handgun and was threatening others.

The caller also noted that the suspect may have had two additional firearms on his person.

A Pineville police officer says he found Colton Floren in the parking lot. Police said the officer gave up to 13 verbal commands which Floren did not comply with.

The officer fired his weapon after Flroen allegedly made a sudden gesture, which the officer perceived as an imminent threat to himself and others nearby.

Paramedics took Floren to Atrium Main where he later died.

The police officer involved did not get hurt.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation. Pineville Police is also conducting an internal affairs investigation.