SBI identifies 19-year-old murder suspect killed in shooting at Durham police HQ
The State Bureau of Investigation has identified the young man killed at Durham Police Department headquarters Wednesday evening as 19-year-old Joshua Farmer.
Farmer, who was a suspect in a murder case, was fatally shot after he “lunged” for and gained “full control” of an officer’s gun, Police Chief Patrice Andrews said Wednesday night.
An initial investigation shows “the suspect fired the shot from the gun that was in his control,” Andrews said. “Again, this was a gun that belonged to a police officer.”
Officers began to treat him at the scene. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, Andrews said.
No officers were injured.
The Police Department would not confirm Farmer’s identity Wednesday or say which officers were involved in the shooting or which homicide Farmer was suspected in.
Court records show Farmer had several pending charges in Durham County, including:
- Charges of injury to real property and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in a July 15, 2023, incident. Farmer posted $25,000 bail in June 2024 on those charges.
- A charge of communicating threats in a Jan. 30 incident where he threatened to slash a woman’s tires, beat her up “and shoot her up with his AR,” according to the arrest warrant. Farmer was released without posting bail.
- Charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, robbery with a dangerous weapon and larceny of a firearm in a July 25, 2023, incident. Farmer posted a $25,000 secured bond in June 2024 on these charges after his bail was reduced from $200,000.
Farmer had also pleaded guilty in Mecklenburg County in August 2024 to a charge of carrying a concealed gun, court records show. He was on electronic monitoring for his Durham County charges at the time of his arrest, according to court documents.
Farmer was given 10 days in jail and a year of unsupervised probation in that case. The court recorded his successful completion of probation March 3, despite an unspecified probation violation being reported to the court Feb. 25 and his arrest on the communicating threats charge in Durham.
The shooting is being investigated by the Durham Police Department’s Professional Standards Division and the SBI, which is standard procedure for shootings involving officers.
Andrews emphasized that her report is based on preliminary findings, including from surveillance footage inside the building.
“My heart goes out to all that have been involved,” Andrews said. “Certainly, this is a tragic loss for our officers, this is a tragic loss for that person’s family, and so our hearts go out to them, as well as the officers that will be forever changed by this this event.”
The Durham Police Department’s headquarters is at 602 E. Main St., in downtown.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 9:24 PM.