Man dead in Triangle's second police shooting this week
For the second time in a week, law enforcement officers in Wake County shot a civilian.
Officers shot a man late Thursday night in Apex after responding to the Dogwood Ridge neighborhood around 11:30 p.m., Apex police Capt. Mitch McKinney said.
McKinney did not specify how many officers were involved in the shooting in the 3000 block of White Cloud Circle or whether the man threatened officers with a weapon.
He couldn't provide details on the nature of the original call or what led to shots being fired.
Richard Eaton, a neighbor, said Apex police banged on his door, guns drawn, while looking for a suspect in an altercation at a nearby community pool.
"You could hear them knocking from here to Johnston County as loud as they were knocking," Eaton said.
Police knocked on at least five other doors, he said, before the fatal confrontation.
"When they got down to the gentleman’s door that is now deceased, it took 15 minutes at least to get his attention to come outside," Eaton said. "He opened the door, and I heard 'Gun, gun, gun, gun,' and that’s when [I heard gunfire] – pop, pop, pop, pop, pop – as fast as that was."
Police have not said whether the shooting victim was a suspect in the original call to police.
Another neighbor said he heard officers yelling, telling someone to get on the ground, before hearing six shots fired.
The Apex Fire Department responded to the same home to put out a fire, McKinney said. There was visible smoke damage to exterior of the home Friday morning, and six markers near what appeared to be bullet holes could be seen outside.
Apex Mayor Lance Olive updated residents on the shooting online. He said Friday afternoon that he couldn't comment on the details of the case, but he said officers were surprised at this door and that he was proud of how they protected the community.
"Unfortunately, these things occur," said Rick Armstrong, of the Raleigh Police Protective Association. "The police officers are up against the unknown. They don't know what potential suspect they have, what weapons they may have, what abilities this suspect may have to hurt or injure the police officer."
The shooting comes less than a week after a Raleigh police officer fatally shot a 30-year-old man.
Mojarrad's family said he suffered from a traumatic brain injury and mental illness, and the family's attorney said the use of deadly force in the encounter was unjustified.
McKinney said Apex police will review audio and video logs from the officers involved in the shooting.
"We’ll have a very linear, methodical, slow process, as it should be, to determine all the facts,” he said.
The State Bureau of Investigation is also reviewing the shooting.
