Police: Gunman killed near N.C. campus after pursuit

9/24/2013

DURHAM, N.C. — An armed man pursued onto the campus of North Carolina Central University was shot and killed in nearby woods after challenging campus officers, police said today.

Durham police tracked the suspect to the campus late Monday, prompting university officials to lock down the school for several hours. It was not immediately clear why Durham police had pursued the man.

Campus officers subsequently located the man in some woods southeast of the university complex before midnight, authorities said. The man challenged three campus officers with a gun and they fired in response, campus Police Chief Timothy Bellamy said.

The man’s name was not immediately released. University police said he was not a student.

A Durham police spokeswoman referred questions to the school and the State Bureau of Investigation, which is reviewing the shooting. A spokeswoman for the SBI did not immediately return messages today.

A university spokeswoman said the school would release more information later in the day.

There were no injuries reported to others and a campus lockdown that began at 10:15 p.m. Monday was lifted shortly after 1 a.m. today.

The officers have been placed on administrative leave while the SBI investigates.

University Chancellor Debra Saunders-White said in an email to students, faculty and staff that the school would hold a town hall meeting later this morning about the matter.

North Carolina Central is part of the University of North Carolina system with an enrollment of more than 8,000 students. The historically black school opened in 1910.