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Timothy Craig Setzer

Age : 27

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/12/2023

Location : 800 block of 5th Ave SW

City : Hickory

County : Catawba

State : North Carolina

Agency : Hickory Police Department

Officer(s) :Aaron Travis; Austin Steele; Isam Shamseldin

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during investigation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/13/2023, shortly after midnight, Hickory Police Department officers responded to multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire in southeast Hickory, including a report that a bullet had struck a residence. Officers located a man matching the description provided by callers in the area of Highland Avenue SE.
Officers attempted to detain him, but he ran through an abandoned parking lot and adjacent property while officers pursued on foot. The officers caught up with him near the 800 block of Highland Avenue SE, where they opened fire. Officers requested emergency medical assistance, but Setzer died at the scene. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation assumed responsibility for the investigation.
The officers involved were later identified as Aaron Travis, Austin Steele, and Isam Shamseldin. All three were placed on administrative leave immediately after the shooting while the SBI investigated.
In August 2025, Setzer's mother filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the City of Hickory and Officers Travis, Steele, and Shamseldin. The complaint alleges Setzer was fleeing when officers fired more than 30 rounds, that he never turned toward the officers, and that body-camera footage contradicts the justification for the shooting. The lawsuit seeks more than $25 million in damages and requests public release of the body-camera recordings.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/one-killed-overnight-officer-involved-shooting-hickory-police-say/5IPQ5CFAZNBG3JYSOLZQ75QPTQ/
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/man-killed-officer-involved-shooting-hickory-nc/275-70f6ffbe-940d-4759-b741-151e9e624a30
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/family-man-shot-by-hickory-police-files-lawsuit-against-officers-city/TC5GKVPX3RHCHKUHKYE2ZQ4XLY/
https://www.wbtv.com/2025/08/15/family-man-killed-by-hickory-police-2023-files-lawsuit-against-city-officers/
https://carolinapublicpress.org/72266/hickory-nc-police-face-lawsuit-fatal-shooting-catawba/