MANTEO, N.C. — Tuesday night, family and friends are remembering the North Carolina man shot and killed by a Dare County Sheriff's deputy.
It happened in Manteo late Monday night.
The sheriff's office says 44-year-old Sylvester Demetrius Selby was holding a knife and "came after" deputies. That's when a deputy shot him. Selby died at the scene.
Almost 24 hours later, close to 50 of Selby's loved ones gathered at a nearby park to honor his memory.
"This is a testimony that we do not know the time or day that the extinction of our life is here," said one family member.
His sister Ebony Selby said she saw the police lights down the street at another family member’s home and ran over.
"Only to see our brother laying there on the ground. Gone," she recalls.
Demetrius' death is at least the fourth gun related death among the extended family within the last two years.
In January 2023, Aonesty Selby, Demetrius' youngest of three daughters, was reported missing and later found dead near a hiking trail in Isle of Wight County. This came only days after her 18th birthday.
"We went out there looking for her ourselves. Her mother, my brother and I found her murdered," said Ebony. "He just buried his youngest daughter."
A judge found Andarius McClelland not competent to stand trial in August, months after he was arrested and reportedly told investigators he shot Aonesty following an argument.
In December of 2021, a deadly triple shooting took the lives of 39-year-old Takeyia Berry and 3-year-old Allura Pledger; Demetrius' sister and niece, respectively.
Ricky Lewis Etheridge Jr., 34, was taken into custody in Norfolk weeks later and charged with their murders, as well as the death of another 18-year-old.
"I’ve lost my only brother, my only sister and two of my nieces," said Ebony. "I'm just kind of lost."
She said it’s the love and support from the community that gets them through.
"We love him. We miss him. We’re gonna miss him. We’re lighting these candles because he would be a light with us, just like the rest of our family will. He will not be forgotten."
As the group released balloons into the sky, one of Demetrius’ daughters asked everyone not to forget their father or their family.
"Please don't forget about my daddy."
The North Carolina Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case and the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave, according to the Dare County Sheriff's Office.
Ebony said she wants justice.
"It looks like transparency, the officer's name, the body camera footage. Not prolonging this to where my brother will be forgot about."
13News Now has reached out to the Dare County Sheriff's Office to find out if that deputy had on a body camera and if it was rolling at the time. We have not yet heard back.
Even if they were wearing one, it would be a while before we could see that footage.
That's because under North Carolina law, body and dash cam videos are exempt from public record. Law enforcement officers must get permission from a judge before they can release it.
That law came under fire in 2021 after Pasquotank County deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City. It took months for the sheriff's office to get the green light to release the video.
While the District Attorney eventually ruled that shooting was justified, the sheriff's office later settled a civil rights lawsuit for $3 million.