Local News

Durham police ID man shot in head by officer

Durham's police chief said Wednesday that an officer responding to a disturbance call at a local apartment complex shot a man in the head after he failed to put down a gun.

Posted 2014-07-17T19:56:22+00:00 - Updated 2014-07-17T19:54:00+00:00

Durham officer shoots man in head while responding to 911 call

Durham police on Thursday identified a man who was shot in the head early Wednesday morning by an officer responding to reports of gunfire.

Kammie Michael, a spokeswoman for the Durham Police Department, said Cayetano Castro-Merino, 21, was shot and that he remained hospitalized with critical injuries.

Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said Wednesday that Officer Brian K. Johnson fired at least one shot at Castro-Merino after he failed to follow Johnson's commands in both English and Spanish to put down the a gun.

The State Bureau of Investigation and Durham Police Department's Professional Standards Division are looking into the shooting, which is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting.

Johnson, who has been with the police department since 2003, is on paid administrative leave.