SALISBURY — It was a morning that started out with people talking about the Cubs winning the World Series.

There was anticipation in the air about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s having an afternoon campaign rally in nearby Cabarrus County. Weekend plans already were being discussed.

All that changed at 9:24 a.m. Thursday when a Special Response Team from the city of Salisbury executed a no-knock warrant at a home in the 600 block of East Lafayette Street. With this search warrant, police were looking for narcotics, weapons and stolen property, supposedly in a place where they anticipated the inhabitants would be armed themselves.

The Special Response Team went in, and an exchange of shots followed.

The first thing to filter out from East Lafayette Street was described as “an officer-involved shooting.”

The second bit of news, not confirmed immediately, was that someone was dead.

An excited caller phoned into the newsroom to report that Salisbury was gearing up for riots because the police had shot a black man.

And so it began.

In the newsroom, any discussion about baseball classics, presidential politics or weekend activities stopped immediately. Though no one expressed it, you knew what everyone was thinking, based on these bits of information.

What was Salisbury headed for? How would the community react if police had shot and killed someone? Was that someone black? The mind takes many leaps.

Were we headed for another Charlotte or another Ferguson?

Reporters already were on the scene. Television helicopters were in the air. Twitter and Facebook posts started their inevitable dialogue — uninformed at first, but out there nonetheless. Rumors took wing.

The Salisbury Police Department issued a bare-bones statement in a pretty timely manner. It confirmed a suspect had been shot at the scene and died at the hospital. It said the suspect fired first, and multiple officers returned fire. It described why the warrant was being executed and that a Special Response Team was employed.

Because officers were involved in a shooting, the State Bureau of Investigation was called in.

Now comes the time for a deep breath.

To have a complete picture of what happened Thursday morning will require time, restraint, patience and trust. Our community’s DNA and character will be tested.

We folks in the media have an obligation. With so much immediacy at our fingertips, we try to be first. We try to pass on any sliver of information, but we need to get it right and provide context.

City officials and the Police Department must be as transparent and forthcoming as possible.

Community leaders should ask questions, provide peaceful outlets for discussion if warranted and make sure all sides to this incident are accountable.

Residents, stay calm. Be sensible. Don’t rush to judgment. Before this becomes a tragedy viewed in black-and-white terms, because no other explanation is available, be sure of the complete story.

Maybe this is one of those times to overreact. But this time, we should go full throttle to our better sides. We have it in us. Let’s take things one responsible step at a time and make the walk together.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mark.wineka@salisburypost.com.