Police videos show Raleigh shooting that killed 2, injured officer in January

The Raleigh Police Department released footage Friday of a shooting and standoff at a Raleigh townhome four months ago that left two men dead and a police officer badly hurt.

Antonio Rodrigues, 70, was killed by police Jan. 21 after he broke through the back door of his ex-wife’s Democracy Street home, fatally shot her boyfriend and hid in the garage.

Rodrigues also shot Officer Max Gillick, who was hospitalized for almost two months.

Rodrigues had a history of domestic violence against his ex-wife, and a report by the Police Department found he used a ghost gun, a belt of ammunition, a shotgun and flare gun in the attack. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced last month she would not charge the officers who shot Rodrigues because the shooting was justified.

The footage, taken from officers’ body cameras and released to the public Friday afternoon, shows their attempts to save victim John Rowe, 73, and negotiate with Rodrigues.

A compilation video published by the department begins with the 911 call placed by the homeowner, 68-year-old Jill Rohner.

“Some dude just came and knocked on the door like he was giving me flowers, plowed in, had some kind of stun gun,” she says. “My boyfriend and I tried to tackle him down. He just left. It might have been my ex-husband, who I have had an 11-year unfortunate journey with.”

Rohner then says she hears something in the back of her house. She gasps as Rodrigues shatters the glass on the back door and tells Rowe to stab him with a screwdriver.

Rohner’s scream can be heard as she tells the operator Rodrigues has shot her boyfriend.

Body camera footage from the first officer to respond, identified as Ofc. Batts, shows Rohner fleeing from the house and taking cover behind a car with him.

“Officer, my boyfriend — my boyfriend’s dying on the floor!” she cries.

Minutes later, Batts and at least three other officers enter the house to search for Rodrigues. Rowe’s blurred image can be seen on the floor as he moans and tries to communicate with police. Shattered glass lay scattered on the ground.

Roughly seven minutes after Batts’ arrival, as two officers go to clear the garage, they make contact with Rodrigues, who can’t be seen.

Shots ring out, and officers scream at Rodrigues to put his hands up.

Batts and another officer then take cover in the nearby laundry room.

Other footage shows Gillick and his sergeant trying to move Rowe, then hiding on the screened-in porch with him as they try to anticipate Rodrigues’ next moves.

“Stay with us, brother,” Gillick tells Rowe. “We are going to get you out of here.”

Roughly 10 minutes into the encounter, Gillick mutters, “Where the hell is SEU?” The Selective Enforcement Unit is the Raleigh Police Department’s equivalent to SWAT. Those officers did not enter the house until 6:08 p.m., about 20 minutes after Batts first arrived, according to the police department.

Gillick and Sgt. Patton help put pressure on Rowe’s wound, but footage indicates Rowe soon grew unresponsive, with the officers noting he didn’t appear to have a pulse by about 6:12 p.m.

Patton eventually calls out to Rodrigues.

“Suspect in the garage,” he says. “You’re going to come out with your hands up in the back alleyway.”

Rodrigues doesn’t exit, and as Patton and Gillick continue to take shelter, they speculate whether Rodrigues has a camera and can see where they are.

“Just advising that he does have a camera,” Patton says. “He might have more inside.”

Thirty-nine minutes into the encounter, Gillick says, “Oh my god, guys, let’s just do this thing already,” as the SEU prepares to drive an armored vehicle into the garage, where Rodrigues is still hiding and occasionally shooting at officers.

As the garage is breached by the SEU’s armored vehicle, Patton and Gillick are facing a side door leading into the garage, and Gillick makes a sound.

“You good?” Patton asks. “You good?”

“I don’t know,” Gillick says.

Multiple gunshots then go off, and the view from Patton’s camera is obscured.

Patton puts a hand on Gillick, who says, “I’m hit.”

Parallel footage from Gillick’s body camera captures him grunt, then fall forward as Patton asks if he’s OK. The footage cuts off after Gillick responds.

Footage from several members of the Selective Enforcement Unit shows the officers enter the house with shields up, then throw flashbangs and shoot at Rodrigues when his shotgun pokes out of the garage entrance.

It appears that Gillick was shot in the final moments of the encounter, just before Rodrigues was killed. The Police Department’s five-day report after the incident states Rodrigues shot Gillick.

Rowe later died at the hospital, while paramedics pronounced Rodrigues dead at the scene, according to police.

Video producer Kevin Keister contributed to this story.

This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM.

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.