Off-duty police officer dies in ‘security incident’ at Marine base, NC cops say

An off-duty police officer died during a “security incident” at Cape Lejeune Marine Corps Base near Jacksonville, according to investigators in eastern North Carolina.

It happened at 12:40 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 13, near the Tarawa Terrace Elementary School.

“Jacksonville police were notified by the Camp Lejeune Provost Marshal’s Office of an incident ... involving an off-duty Jacksonville Police Department officer, Philip Chiorino,” Jacksonville police said in a Jan. 16 news release.

“Officer Chiorino sustained life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced deceased. Due to the incident occurring on a military installation, NCIS is the investigating agency.”

Details of what led to Chiorino’s death have not been released.

Chiorino had been in the Marines and lived on the military base, police officials said an interview posted on social media by WCTI. He joined the Jacksonville Police Department July 2024, and his most recent assignment was as a school resource officer, officials said.

Camp Lejeune officials said the “security incident” caused on-base schools and child development centers to be placed on a “precautionary lockdown” for about an hour.

“No students, children or staff were harmed during the incident. Law enforcement actions during the incident resulted in one fatality,” base officials reported. “The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation, and no additional details are available at this time.”

Camp Lejeune has 38,778 active duty personnel and covers 153,439 acres near Jacksonville. It is about a 140-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published January 17, 2026 at 8:43 AM.