Durham Police Investigate Homicide
On July 4th at approximately 11:00pm, Durham Police officers responded to a gunshot wound in the 500 block of Burlington Ave. Upon arrival, they found the victim, Paulette Thorpe, 74 years of age, suffering from a gunshot wound. Ms. Thorpe was transported to a local hospital where she died a short time later. The preliminary investigation indicates that this incident was the result of celebratory gunfire. This is an active investigation and no further details are available at this time.
The following statement is from Durham Police Chief, Cerelyn J. Davis:
“Last night as people throughout Durham peacefully celebrated the July 4th holiday with their friends and family, a small few chose to put our community at risk by carelessly firing guns into the air. This reckless behavior led to the tragic death of Ms. Paulette Thorpe. Ms. Thorpe’s death reminds us that we as a community must work together to prevent these senseless acts, so that no family suffers such a tragedy ever again.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Investigator Bongarten at 919-560-4440 ext. 29529 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
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Click or call 919-560-1200