Durham police investigating deadly shooting near headquarters
DURHAM (WTVD) -- Durham police officers are investigating a strange shooting behind police headquarters in downtown Tuesday morning.
Investigators described a bizarre chain of events that began with a car accident on Chapel Hill Street.
Police said just before 11 a.m., a car headed west tried to turn left on Gregson Street and hit another car. It then continued into the parking lot of Durham Police Headquarters at 505 West Chapel Hill Street.
The driver of the car, identified as 21-year-old Jeremy Darnell Artis of Marietta, Georgia, jumped out of the car and ran through the parking lot. A woman - later identified as 18-year-old Michaelia Desaree Daughtridge of Marietta, Georgia - remained in the vehicle.
Officers briefly ran after Artis on foot in the parking lot. He then ran across Jackson Street and onto Gordon Street, which is a dirt road behind Durham Police Headquarters. According to several witnesses, Artis shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a spokesperson for the Cobb County Sheriff's Department in Georgia, Artis had an outstanding bench warrant related to a shoplifting case. Court records show Artis had a criminal record with offenses ranging from burglary to auto entry.
Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said no officers were involved in shooting, but they are investigating to try and understand why Artis shot himself.
"We had officers who were in the parking lot who were very much surprised - not only from the accident - but even more so for him take his own life," said Lopez.
Police radio traffic released in the wake of the shooting shows police were trying to pull the car Artis was driving over before the crash, but they said late Tuesday there was no active pursuit.
Daughtridge was taken to the hospital for treatment and then released. The driver of the other vehicle was not hurt.
Daughtridge has been charged by Durham police investigators with possession of a stolen vehicle. She was also arrested on a fugitive warrant from Georgia charging her with armed robbery. She is being held in the Durham County Jail without bond.
The vehicle driven by Artis had been reported stolen in Georgia, according to authorities.
