RFP Staff
♦ Chad Wayne Kirkman, 46, of the 100 block of Belmont Place in Rockwell, was arrested in the early morning hours of Valentines Day and charged with kidnapping (felony), assault on a female (misdemeanor), and communicating threats (misdemeanor). Under a secured $15,000 bond, Kirkman was held at the Rowan County Detention until he was released on bail Monday. By lunchtime the same day Kirkland allegedly assaulted his wife Traci who notifed the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s office issued warrants for Kirkman’s arrest.
Kirkman, a Rowan-Cabarrus Community College nursing student, was attending classes at the N.C. Research Campus where he allegedly assaulted Michelle Zimmerman, an instructor at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center. Allegedly Kirkman became loud and threatening, telling Zimmerman “It would take six to put her in a coffin.” He allegedly pressed a cross pendant to her face and arm, asking if it burned.
On Tuesday they located Kirkman at his home with the use of a robot. The entire neighborhood and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College was placed on alert. Soon Kirkman was in the midst of a standoff with Rowan County Sheriff’s Office deputies who formed a perimeter around his home and attempted to talk Kirkman down. Instead of surrendering peacefully, Kirkman turned a firearm on himself and ended his life.
Kirkman prior to becoming a nursing student, was a contractor and also piloted for US Air and DHL.
