HONORED—Secretary Reuben Young with the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety (left) pauses for a photo with Special Agent Bryan Irwin to whom he recently presented a heroism award.

Alleghany native is honored for heroic actions

Former Alleghany resident Bryan Irwin was recognized for heroism following an incident while he was working with the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division. Irwin—the son of Alleghany's Bobby Irwin and the late Carole Irwin and stepson of Suzanne Mellow Irwin.

As an ALE agent, Irwin is assigned to Forsyth County, and noted there are nine counties in the district located in Greensboro.

Growing up in Alleghany, the Western Carolina University graduate became a special agent after he graduated in 1998.

Irwin remarked, "When I graduated college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an investigator but I also wanted to get some street level enforcement experience. Most law enforcement jobs don't have that; you either have to pick patrol or investigations." He added,

"In ALE, we can be conducting a long-term drug investigation on one day, writing citations for underage drinking the next and end the week with serving high risk search warrants for violent crimes. That is what enticed me to apply with ALE."

Irwin explained what his job entails.

"ALE is tasked, by statute, with the enforcement of alcohol, drug and lottery laws. We assist local, state and federal agencies with the enforcement of state and federal laws. We have the authority to enforce any state law on the books. NC ALE has the broadest scope of jurisdiction of any agency in the state."

Day to Remember

One August afternoon in 2009, the day had been no different than any other as he was nearing the conclusion of his shift. At 4 p.m., he was stopped at a stoplight looking at a convenience store across the street.

He recalled, "The store was crowded, about six to eight people standing around the gas pumps. I saw a man raise a large caliber handgun and point it towards the victim. The man was shot five times at point blank range. Then, the shooter casually got into the back of an SUV (sport utility vehicle) occupied by two other individuals. The driver slowly pulled out of the parking lot."

He recounted that during the two seconds during which the shots were fired, a thousand different thoughts ran through Irwin's mind, noting the thought that prevailed was "go get ‘em."

With that, Irwin went to check on the shooting victim and from there contacted the local police department to make them aware of what had happened.