Suspect used ghost gun in attack that injured RPD officer, killed man, Raleigh police say

The man Raleigh police say fatally shot his ex-wife’s boyfriend and injured a police officer last week brought an arsenal with him that included a rifle, ghost gun and explosives, a report released Tuesday reveals.

Antonio Rodrigues, 70, killed John Rowe, 73, and shot First Class Officer M.A. Gillick at his former wife Jill Rohner’s home on Democracy Street in south Raleigh before police shot and killed him, according to the report from Police Chief Estella Patterson.

The five-day post-incident report appears to confirm Rohner’s account of the incident, which she said began with a masked and hooded Rodrigues breaking in through her front door.

Timeline of events

Here is what the report says happened:

▪ 5:39 p.m.: Rohner’s first 911 call comes in. She tells the operator her ex-husband has broken into her home and attacked her boyfriend with a Taser, but that neither of them need medical help.

▪ 5:44 p.m.: While Rohner is still on the phone with 911, Rodrigues returns and starts breaking the glass on her back door. He then shoots Rowe.

▪ 5:49 p.m.: Officers arrive, and Rohner runs outside, telling police “[her] boyfriend is dying on the floor.” Police hear gunfire inside the home.

▪ 5:53 p.m.: Five officers, including a K-9 officer, enter the back of the home and find Rowe conscious and bleeding from his side on the kitchen floor. Gillick stays with Rowe while the other officers check the rest of the home to try to make it safe for emergency medical personnel to enter.

▪ 5:56 p.m.: Police find an armed Rodrigues inside the garage.

“Despite repeated commands directing him to show his hands and drop the weapon he was holding, Mr. Rodrigues fired multiple shots at the officers,” the report states.

One officer returns fire while Gillick and a sergeant move Rowe to a nearby screened patio.

“Mr. Rodrigues continued firing from inside the garage, confining those officers to their respective areas while they awaited additional support,” the report states.

▪ 5:57 p.m.: Gillick notifies the dispatcher shots have been fired and “urgently [requests] additional assistance.” Police believe up to two officers have been struck by gunfire, leading to a call over the radio that an officer has been shot. Neither of those officers were ultimately injured, the report states.

▪ 6:08 p.m.: The Police Department’s Selective Enforcement Unit arrives. Meanwhile, Rodrigues “intermittently [fires] shots from inside the garage” and apparently uses a flare gun to respond to commands to surrender, the report states.

▪ 6:36 p.m.: Police use an armored vehicle to enter the garage, prompting Rodrigues to retreat into the home and shoot at officers. This is when Gillick, still in the screened-in patio, is struck.

▪ 6:38 p.m.: Selective Enforcement Unit officers use flashbangs while four police officers shoot back, striking Rodrigues. Other officers then carry Gillick and Rowe out of the home, and EMS takes them to the hospital. Rodrigues is pronounced dead at the scene.

Weapons and ammunition found

A .44 Magnum lever-action rifle was found beside Rodrigues’ body, and a 9mm ghost gun and ammunition were found in his waistband, according to the report.

A ghost gun is “a privately made firearm completed by someone other than a licensed manufacturer,” the report states. Ghost guns don’t have serial numbers, preventing law enforcement from tracing them.

Rodrigues was also wearing a bandolier: a pocketed belt used to carry ammunition, grenades or cartridges.

Nineteen fired shell casings were recovered from the crime scene, the report states:

• 13 .44 Magnum shell casings found in the garage
• Three .44 Magnum shell casings found inside the home
• Three 9mm shell casings found inside the home

A Taser, flare gun and flare gun shells were also found at the scene, according to the report. Hand explosives were found in Rodrigues’ vehicle and disposed of by the department’s Hazardous Devices Unit.

Five Raleigh police officers ultimately fired a total of 43 rounds during the incident, the report states. Those officers have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard when any officer discharges their service weapon.

The department’s Office of Provisional Standards and the State Bureau of Investigation are completing separate investigations of the shooting, and detectives are investigating Rodrigues’ actions, according to the report.

Gillick remains in critical but stable condition, the report states. The Police Department will petition a judge for the release of officers’ body camera footage from the incident.

This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 11:43 AM.

Lexi Solomon

The News & Observer

Lexi Solomon joined The News & Observer in August 2024 as the emerging news reporter. She previously worked in Fayetteville at The Fayetteville Observer and CityView, reporting on crime, education and local government. She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.