Matthew Calton, 53, is accused of gunning down his landlord Friday afternoon and then was wounded by police after he allegedly fired at them hours later.
The shootout with police happened behind the Creedmoor Crossings Shopping Center at Creedmoor and Millbrook Roads.
Two officers responded to a call for help and said Calton opened fire with a shotgun. One of the officers was hit and both returned the fire.
Calton was shot in the abdomen. He and the officer went to the hospital. The officer was released over the weekend.
At last report, Calton remained in fair condition at WakeMed.
The whole incident started around 2 p.m. at the Carquest store on Millbrook Road, a few miles away from the shootout.
Police said that's where Calton gunned down his landlord, 53-year-old Jody Simmons.
It happened in broad daylight in front of at least one eyewitness who called 911.
Caller: "I was leaving the Carquest store and the guy that was parked beside me; he got out of the car and shot this guy."
Dispatcher: "Okay, what did he look like?"
Caller: "White male, kind of scraggly thinnish hair driving a gray Cadillac."
A motive remains unclear. A friend of Simmons told ABC11 that said Calton's rent was paid in full.
"My understanding was that this guy paid in advance as a rule, and that he had called Jody and said he was going to pay three months worth of rent, and he was current," said Simmons' friend Greg Paul.
Those who knew and loved Simmons said they can't understand what happened.
"Totally blindsided," said Paul. "I had no idea that something like that could happen."
When Calton is released from the hospital, he will face a judge.
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