Feb. 07--RALEIGH -- A Raleigh police officer was shot this evening as a police tactical team attempted to enter an apartment in the Brier Creek area of town.
The officer's injuries are thought to be non-life-threatening, according to Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue. The standoff with the man continues, according to witnesses.
Police were acting on a report this morning about a man who had threatened to commit suicide and who could pose a threat to others, Sughrue said. Police tracked the man to his apartment in the 9300 block of Bothwell Street, in the Colonial Grand at Brier Creek Place off Alm Street.
Police evacuated nearby apartments. Shortly before 7:30 p.m., the tactical team attempted to enter the apartment and "shots were fired," Sughrue said. He later confirmed that the man inside the apartment fired several shots, hitting one of the officers.
The officer was taken to WakeMed, Sughrue said.
Additional information, including the names of the officer and man in the apartment, have not been released.
Crystal Rushton, who lives in the neighborhood, said she heard what sounded like several gunshots at about 10 p.m., but saw no sign that the standoff was over.
"Some shots were louder than others. We heard like 11 or 12," Rushton said at about 10:40 p.m. "We can see the SWAT guys standing up in the stairwell, but it looks like they're just waiting it out."
Whitney Hilliard, who says she lives in the building next to the one where the standoff is taking place, said police had been around during the day, but that she wasn't asked to leave her apartment until about 7:30 p.m.
"Before I walked out, I heard a lot of people screaming in my hall," Hilliard said. Then a police officer banged on her door and said "We're evacuating," she said.
"I asked him if I could grab my cat, and he said, 'Yes, if you hurry up.'"
Copyright 2012 - The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
