Law enforcement officers meet under a bridge Tuesday afternoon following events along U.S. 70 East. Photo by Catherine Hardee / Neuse News

UPDATE:

U.S. 70 west of Kinston was full of flashing lights and first responders Tuesday afternoon.

First, a large fire broke out at Foss Recycling on U.S. 70 East in La Grange Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters from North Lenoir Fire and Rescue, Sandy Bottom Fire and Rescue, La Grange Fire Department, Southwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue, El-Roy Volunteer Firefighters, Seven Springs Volunteer Fire Department, Wyse Fork Volunteer Fire and Rescue and Hugo Volunteer Fire and Rescue all responded to the blaze. 

Tanker trucks from the different departments were kept busy going back and forth between the fire and the nearest hydrant to provide water to fight the flames. 

There is no official word yet on what caused the fire, but an employee of Foss Recycling told Neuse News he saw smoke and ran to see what had happened. He said it appeared the blaze might have originated with an accident involving a crane and a vehicle. The employee thought the vehicle’s gas tank must have ignited a pile of recycling that included flammable materials.

While the tankers were getting water to Foss Recycling, area law enforcement converged on the industrial area on either side of 70 just west of Kinston. 

Maj. Tim Dilday of the Kinston Police Department said they received a call shortly after 5 p.m. reporting a man with a gun on the 4900 block of West Vernon Avenue. 

“The incident began when management members of Sanderson Farms, 2801 Sanderson Way, were alerted to the possible presence of an armed employee on their campus and requested assistance from the Kinston Police Department,” according to a statement from the KPD. 

KPD officers responded and located the man, who has been identified as 23-year-old Imani Jemarque Clayton of Rocky Mount. Clayton struggled with the responding officer and fled the scene, leading to a foot pursuit. 

The KPD was joined by the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office and the State Highway Patrol in searching for Clayton. 

Dilday said objects of clothing and a firearm with an altered serial number were found along Clayton’s path. 

The suspect was located near the edge of nearby woods after about an hour and taken into custody without further incident, Dilday said. 

Clayton is being processed at the Kinston Police Department and faces charges of possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, felony carrying a concealed weapon and resisting/delaying/obstruction of a public official. 

Traffic on 70 was backed up due to the law enforcement presence and the requirements of the search for Clayton.

Original post follows:

The U.S. 70 East corridor has been busy this afternoon.

An explosion led to a fire at Foss Recycling this afternoon. No injuries have been reported.

Shortly after that, the Kinston Police Department received a report of an armed man along U.S. 70. A responding officer struggled with the man and he temporarily escaped.

After an hour-long search that included the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office and State Highway Patrol, that man was captured without incident after the initial struggle. There were no injuries reported in that incident.

UPDATE: Here’s a statement from the KPD to Neuse News (edited for style and grammar) —

Shortly after 5 p.m. today, officers of the KPD responded to a call of a man with a gun on the 4900 block of W. Vernon Avenue. Once the man was located, a struggle ensued with the responding officer. After a foot pursuit and subsequent search of the area, the man was located along a nearby wood line and taken into custody without further incident. Articles of clothing and a firearm were located along the suspect’s path. The suspect’s identity is pending. This incident lasted one hour and was conducted with the assistance of the LCSO & NCSHP.

Please stay with Neuse News as we update these reports.