DURHAM, N.C. — Durham police spent Thursday investigating a shooting involving one of their officers.

According to investigators, officer Terry Anderson was in a back room working off-duty security at the Red Roof Inn on North Pointe Drive, near Interstate 85, when a motel employee ran into the room at 1:20 a.m. to tell Anderson he thought the business was about to be robbed.

The uniformed officer saw two males wearing masks and armed with a gun follow the clerk into a room.

Police said that when the suspects saw Anderson, one of the them fired at the officer. Anderson returned fire, fatally wounding 17-year-old Marcus Snead.

The second suspect, Dale Marable, 16, ran from the scene but was later caught.

Marable was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and felonious assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.

Anderson, a six-year veteran of the Durham Police Department, has been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is standard procedure.

The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation, which is also standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.

Just two weeks ago, Officer J.J. McDonough shot and killed 15-year-old Tony Rochelle. According to investigators, the teen in that case also fired first.

Until two weels ago, there had not been a deadly shooting involving a Durham officer since 1996. Police said a lot has changed since then. They predicted there would be more violence directed toward officers because of the increased number of gang activity and juveniles with guns.

"We're all very concerned about this," activist Marcia Owen said.

Owen said the violence is tough to tackle.

"We need to know what's going on in our children's lives and if they have possession of a handgun, and if they do take action," Owen said.

So far, there do not appear to be a lot of people outraged by the latest shootings. Even Rochelle's mother told WRAL right after her son's death that she did not blame police.

"I know it was in self-defense," she said.

She said there is only one solution to the problem.

"Get your children out of Durham," she said. "Durham is no place to raise children. These streets are terrible."

Police hope to come up with a better answer -- and soon.