Roll of Honor
Wendy Letitia Shannon
Incident
Correctional Officer Wendy Shannon, Correction Enterprises Manager Veronica Darden, and Correctional Officer Justin Smith were killed during an escape attempt from the Pasquotank Correctional Institute at approximately 3:00 pm.
On October 12th, 2017, several inmates ignited a fire inside the prison's Specialty Sewing Plant as a diversion. The inmates then attacked responding corrections officers with hammers and scissors obtained in the sewing plant. Prison personnel and responding fire department crews were able to bring the fire under control and prevent the escape.
Officer Shannon was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she passed away on October 30th, 2017.
Four inmates, ages 23, 28, 29, and 30, were charged with first-degree murder as a result of the incident. The Pasquotank district attorney said he would seek the death penalty against all four.
The first of four, a 23-years-old, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder on October 21st, 2019. On October 28th, 2019, he was sentenced to death. He was serving a 24-year sentence for the attempted murder of a North Carolina State Trooper in 2013. He shot the trooper four times, twice in the face, in Durham after he pulled him over for a seat belt violation. He was wanted in Vermont for parole violation. He had recently been released thereafter, serving 18 months of two years for more than 100 burglaries, including one in which he stabbed a woman several times. After he shot the trooper, his Durham apartment was searched, where it was discovered, he was making a bomb. A map found nearby of the Raleigh-Durham area was circled with the locations of all the police departments. This resulted in a 40-year sentence in Federal prison. The trooper recovered and returned to duty. On October 28, 2019, a second inmate, now 34, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. He was transferred to a prison in another state, ( location unknown). Before the attack he was serving a 24 year sentence for attempted murder in Durham County in 2013.
Officer Shannon was a United States Army Persian Gulf veteran and had served with the North Carolina Division of Prisons for four years.
Survivors
She is survived by her two daughters, one son, her mother, and grandchild.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-B8BC0C57- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Correctional Officer Shannon gave the North Carolina Department of Public Safety 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of North Carolina. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, sister.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Wendy Letitia Shannon served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Correctional Officer Wendy Letitia Shannon is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 385 of 664 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 58% of this state's fallen. That is 3.8 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, 13 of 31 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 41.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Wendy Letitia Shannon's cause is highlighted.
How Wendy Letitia Shannon Compares
Offender Outcome
Guilty of first-degree murder
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Wendy Letitia Shannon is highlighted in Oct.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Wendy Letitia Shannon was killed by blunt object.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
30 officers from North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
