This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Edilberto Espinoza Sierra has been identified as the man shot and killed by police officers in the morning hours of March 8 in a parking deck here in Wilmington.  Police were responding to a separate incident of a shooting at the same deck.  According to the Port City Daily, when witnesses pointed out Sierra’s vehicle,:

Upon law enforcement approaching his car, Sierra fled, with officers chasing after the vehicle in the parking deck. Sierra eventually struck another vehicle and “narrowly missed” police, WPD reported; thus, law enforcement responded with gunfire to thwart more harm possibly inflicted upon others waiting to exit the parking deck.

Mr. Sierra was pronounced dead at the scene.

Predictably, his family held a small protest in Wilmington yesterday, chanting things like “Justice for Berto” and “No Mother Should Bury Her Son.”  His sister -  Genesis Espinoza Sierra - did not mince words:

This is an abuse of power. It’s murder.

No it is not. 

While no family should have to bury any of its members – particularly parents burying their own children – the fact of the matter is that Mr. Sierra is dead because he chose to run away from police.  He might be a victim – but he is the victim of his own bad choices – not those of the Wilmington Police Department doing their job.  When a police officer orders someone out his car – especially at a highly charged situation like a shooting – the only response- the only response – is to exit the vehicle. 

His sister says he disobeyed law enforcement because he was scared.  Additionally, she claims he had been injured in a separate physical altercation, stemming from a personal dispute involving a woman, which took place shortly before police arrived. Or perhaps he was fleeing the scene because he was already in trouble for a gun related incident in Duplin county where he fired a rifle and a handgun into a vehicle at a Speedway gas station in Wallace.

We will never know.  The police certainly knew none of that. All they saw was a fleeing vehicle from a crime scene smashing into other cars and posing an imminent threat to themselves and others.  They did their job – so other parents might not have to bury their children.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.

.