Woman dies from ‘celebratory gunfire’ on July 4 in Durham
A 74-year-old woman died after being shot by what police called Fourth of July “celebratory gunfire.”
Durham police said they responded to a gunshot wound at the 500 block of Burlington Avenue at about 11 on Saturday night. They found Paulette Thorpe, 74, had been shot. She died in the hospital, police said.
A preliminary investigation said the shooting was the result of celebratory gunfire, police said.
“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,” Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis said in a statement. “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 an investigator 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 do not have to identify themselves.
This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 11:04 AM.