Authorities: Woman shot at deputy, trooper in Johnston County I-40 shooting

A woman died Saturday morning after a shooting involving a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 40 in Johnston County.

Posted 12:13 p.m. Jul 8, 2017 — Updated 6:05 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

NEWTON GROVE, N.C. — A woman was in critical condition Saturday after a shooting involving a multiple law enforcement agencies on Interstate 40 in Johnston County.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers and Johnston County sheriff's deputies responded around 6:30 a.m. to a report of a single-vehicle crash on I-40 westbound at mile marker 337, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. When officers arrived, they found Tina Renee Medlin, 50, of Raleigh, armed with a gun and lying on the highway.

Authorities said Trooper J.L. Taylor and Deputy Taylor Davis returned fire after being shot at by Medlin during an "armed confrontation."

According to radio traffic from RadioReference.com, Medlin displayed the weapon as officers approached the vehicle.

Authorities on the scene said Medlin had the gun because she wanted to kill herself, according to radio traffic.

Medlin was taken to Wake Medical Center in Raleigh with serious injuries.

Taylor, a 16-year veteran with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Records show Medlin has charges in Wake County dating back to 1990, including charges of resisting a public officer and assault on a government official from 2013.

A shooting in Johnston County involving a trooper and a deputy closed Interstate 40 on Saturday morning.

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident and is asking that anybody who witnessed the crash or saw the vehicle traveling erratically to call 1-800=334-3000.

The highway was closed around 6:40 a.m. near Exit 341 for N.C. Highway 50 and N.C. Highway 55. It reopened around 1:45 p.m.

Video from Sky 5 showed a white SUV that had crashed on the side of the highway. The SUV's doors were open, and the front bumper was damaged.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story reported that the woman involved in the shooting had died, based on information sent in a press release from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol later said authorities learned that Medlin had not succumbed to her injuries, as troopers originally stated, but was in fact in critical condition.

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