Suspect fatally shot by police identified as man from Mexico, NC officials say
The suspect fatally shot Sunday by a Monroe police officer has been identified as a 33-year-old man from Mexico, according to investigators in North Carolina.
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Francisco Javier Montes-Hernandez died at a Charlotte hospital, Monroe police said in an Aug. 18 news release.
“Montes-Hernandez had been staying the Monroe area,” police said.
The officer fired the fatal shot in self-defense during a confrontation around 10 p.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Alda Drive, police say. Investigators did not report the officer was injured during the encounter.
“Officers were dispatched … after a report of a suspicious person who was attempting to break into a home. When the first officer arrived, he encountered a person matching the description in the street,” Monroe police say.
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“During the encounter, the individual pointed a handgun at the officer and refused multiple commands to drop the weapon. The officer (was) then forced to shoot Montes-Hernandez. Officers immediately provided CPR and other lifesaving measures until medical personnel arrived.”
Investigators did not release details of where Montes-Hernandez was staying, or if he has ties to the neighborhood.
The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is leading an investigation into the shooting, “which is standard procedure in these circumstances,” police said. The officer is on administrative leave.
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The 200 block of Alda Drive is lined with single family homes, maps show.
Monroe is about a 40-mile drive southeast from uptown Charlotte.
This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 11:57 AM.
