Arrest records show woman killed, man injured were roommates of man charged in Durham shooting

An officer on scene told WRAL News the suspect has been taken into custody after barricading inside one of the apartments for nearly 8 hours.

Posted 9:36 p.m. Apr 7, 2022 — Updated 9:39 p.m. Apr 8, 2022

Sarah Krueger

, WRAL Durham reporter & Keenan Willard, WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — Dozens of police responded to a shooting that left a woman dead and a man injured in Durham on Thursday afternoon.

The shooting happened in the 300 block of Avon Lake Drive at the Lakemoor Apartments.

Police said when they arrived, Emily Montes de Oca, 22, of Durham, was pronounced dead. The second person, Carlos Cortes, 27, was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Police said Erick Ray Hudson, 26, of Durham, barricaded himself inside an apartment and refused to come out for nearly eight hours. Members of DPD's Selective Enforcement Team entered the apartment around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night and took Hudson into custody.

Hudson was charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Arrest records showed Montes de Oca, Cortes and Hudson were roommates.

"All of the sudden, I hear 'Boom. Boom.' Six times," said Keri Hassell, who was at home when Thursday's shooting occurred.

One woman who lives at the apartment complex told WRAL News she jumped into action as soon as she heard the shots.

She didn’t want to be identified but said she was a nurse, and that she helped a man who was shot in his shoulder and hip.

"I initially made my way down the steps because I heard someone screaming out help me, help me, help me. And I was like oh my god, somebody has been hit," said the nurse.

She said she applied pressure to the man’s wounds while he asked her if he was going to die.

"He was distraught in the face. All he kept saying was 'my wife, my wife, my wife.' Which was the other victim that was in the middle of this crossfire," said the nurse.

Neighbors said there were two shootings in the complex on the same day about three weeks ago.

"Bullets don't have a name. They don't have a direction," said Hassell, who showed WRAL News bullet holes covering her apartment building from previous shootings.

But, police said the shooting did not appear to be related to any prior shootings in the area.

"It's really scary. I've never, ever been more afraid to be around people, to be in my own space, but now, I really don't even want to go out and try to interact with anybody," said Hassell.

However, Hassell said the apartment complex is full of children.

"It's scary, and I know it's scary for me at 50. It's got to be horrifying for them at 10, 12, 8 [years old,]" she said.

As a mother and grandmother, Hassell said she think of them and the trauma from all they are having to see.

"It was very sad because my neighbor’s daughter ... she said, 'I don’t want to live here no more. I want to move.' She was sobbing," said Hassell. "That’s pitiful. That’s really bad. How can you imagine being 8-years-old and see what you’ve seen the last three weeks?"

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