Press Releases

While the track of Tropical Storm Florence remains uncertain, state and local emergency management officials are already taking steps to prepare for potential impacts to North Carolina.

A North Carolina State Trooper and a few Good Samaritans are to be held as heroes for saving the life of a woman caught in rapids while tubing in the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City. 

As students return to school and the peak of hurricane season arrives, Governor Roy Cooper declared September as North Carolina Preparedness Month to encourage individuals, families, schools and businesses to review their emergency plans and update their emergency supply kits. 

ReBuild North Carolina has awarded over $286,000 to 22 families whose homes were damaged in Hurricane Matthew. The grants come through North Carolina’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding. The families are located in Cumberland, Edgecombe, Robeson and Wayne counties, and funding will be used to repair damaged homes and to reimburse homeowners for work that is already completed.

Secretary Erik A. Hooks announced today that Gary Mohr, a nationally recognized leader in corrections, has agreed to serve as a Senior Executive Advisor to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

What: Convocation for the start of the second year of the N.C. Field Minister Program

When: Sept. 5, 2018

Time: 1 p.m.

Inmate Larry Bowman (#0752098) died Thursday at Maury Correctional Institution after an apparent suicide. He was found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 4:48 a.m. Prison medical staff and local paramedics responded and worked to resuscitate the inmate.

At approximately 2:48 p.m. on Aug. 28 at Scotland Correctional Institution, two inmates suffered injuries during an inmate-on-inmate assault in a housing unit. Both inmates were transported to outside medical facilities for treatment. Their conditions are unknown at this time. 

A combined effort from the Department of Public Safety Special Ops team (including K-9 units), county and local law enforcement aided in the capture of Gaston Correctional Center inmate Thomas Philbeck (#1211238) at approximately 5:30 a.m. Monday.

Environmental reviews were approved today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Cumberland, Edgecombe and Wayne counties, which will allow homeowner awards to move forward on Hurricane Matthew repair projects funded by Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) in those counties.