Trooper David Blanton Jr., age 24, was shot and killed in the line of duty last evening during a traffic stop on Interstate-40 in Haywood County.

Trooper Blanton joined the North Carolina Highway Patrol on May 11, 2006. His most recent assignment was to Haywood County.

Trooper Blanton is the 59th trooper to die in the line of duty since the formation of the Highway Patrol in 1929. He is the first trooper to be fatally assaulted since 1997. Trooper Blanton grew up in Sylva, N.C., where he graduated from Smokey Mountain High School in 2002. His first North Carolina Highway Patrol duty station was Waynesville.

Trooper Blanton leaves behind a wife and child.

Law enforcement officers have charged Edwardo Wong II age 37 with First Degree Murder in the death of Trooper David Blanton Jr. Trooper Blanton stopped a vehicle towing a passenger car operated by Wong last night on I-40 in Haywood County.

An altercation occurred between Trooper Blanton and Wong and Blanton was fatally shot. Wong removed the trooper's weapon and fled the scene. He was later apprehended by local law enforcement officials.

Troopers and other law enforcement officials located narcotics and weapons in Wong's vehicle. Wong has an Ormond Beach, Florida address and told officials he was traveling from Tennessee. He has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for felony assault on law enforcement officers, felony drug violations, felony possession of a firearm and others.

Wong is being held in the Haywood County Jail with out bail.

Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Bryan E. Beatty issued this statement: "Incidents like this remind us of what dangerous profession law enforcement is. I ask all North Carolinians to pray for all our law enforcement families."

"The Patrol family has lost a member and the state of North Carolina has lost a dedicated public servant," said Colonel W. Fletcher Clay Commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.