Child porn suspect kills himself at police headquarters in Statesville, NC cops say

The suspect in an ongoing child pornography investigation drove to police headquarters in Statesville, North Carolina, and fatally shot himself as he sat behind the steering wheel, according to the Statesville Police Department.

It happened Sunday, around 12:50 p.m. at 330 South Tradd Street, officials said. Statesville is about 40 miles north of uptown Charlotte.

“Officers observed a vehicle in the parking lot of the police department ... that appeared to be running with the driver slumped over the steering wheel,” the police department said in a news release.

“Upon entering the vehicle to make contact with the male subject, officers observed that he was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted. Officers advised dispatch to request EMS to respond to the scene, and upon arrival, the male subject was declared deceased.”

An “initial investigation” found Tracy Allen Knight of Euclid Avenue in Statesville “died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” officials said.

Knight had been arrested Sept. 24 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off authorities to five files of child pornography, police said last week.

“A member of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force began investigating this case and was able to link the files of child pornography to a Mr. Tracy Allen Knight of 346 Euclid Ave. Statesville, NC,” police said. “During the search of the residence, numerous items of evidence were seized linking Mr. Knight to child pornography.”

Knight was charged with three counts of third-degree child exploitation and was out on $50,000 bond at the time of his death, officials said. Additional charges were pending in his case.

This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 8:14 AM with the headline "Child porn suspect kills himself at police headquarters in Statesville, NC cops say."