Cary redacts bank hostages' names in report

Cary officials said they blacked out the names and addresses of victims in the public-record portion of the Feb. 10 incident report at the direction of the Wake County District Attorney's Office because of ongoing investigations.

The three-hour standoff last Thursday at a Wachovia Bank on Green Level Church Road ended when authorities shot and killed 19-year-old Devon Mitchell as he emerged from the bank holding what appeared to be a gun to the head of a woman.

Police now say he did not have a weapon.

The report lists several items seized as part of the investigation, including a book bag, books, money, tennis shoes and a document with writing. It does not elaborate.

Mitchell had as many as seven hostages – four women and three men – during the standoff, during which he told employees and a hostage negotiator that he was armed, Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore said Saturday.

"Why Devon set this all in motion, why he wanted us all to believe that he had a weapon and that he was prepared to kill with it are questions that we will never have the answers to,” she said. “But it’s clear that's what Devon wanted us to believe.”

Four Cary police officers and a Wake County sheriff’s deputy all fired at Mitchell, but Bazemore has not said how many times he was shot.

The officers are on administrative duty, which is standard whenever an officer discharges a weapon.

Friends of Mitchell have questioned the use of force in the case, but Bazemore has said the officers did as they were trained and were expected to do under the circumstances.