Duke clinic gunman shot self, autopsy shows
The Duke University Health System clinic employee killed last month in an attack by a former boyfriend was shot six times, an autopsy report released Tuesday shows.
Posted — UpdatedBurnette Taylor, 51, suffered from a lethal contact gunshot wound of the right side of the head, according to the report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill. He also suffered a second gunshot wound to the back of his left hip.
Durham police say Taylor entered the North Duke Street Clinic on May 4 and shot his ex-girlfriend, Charlene King. Police found Taylor hiding nearby and exchanged gunfire with him.
Initial reports indicated that police had shot and killed Taylor.
His autopsy report, however, indicates that, although police did fire shots, the gunshot wound to the head was self-inflicted and that Taylor had also been holding a gun to his head when police confronted him.
King, 49, was shot six times in the chest, stomach, back and buttocks, according to an autopsy report.
Family members said King, a phlebotomist at the clinic, had ended a year-long relationship before the attack.
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