Medical examiner’s report reveals new information in Durham shooting death
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jeremiah Bell, 20, was fatally shot Jan. 18 at a Durham apartment complex.
- Ke’mari Thompson, 19, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in Bell’s death.
- New documents indicate Thompson allegedly shot Bell before realizing the gun was loaded.
A Durham man who died in January was apparently shot by a friend intending to play a joke on him, according to reports released to The News & Observer last week.
Jeremiah Bell, 20, died Jan. 18 after he was shot in the parking lot of a Briar Rose Lane apartment complex, The N&O previously reported. Ke’mari Tymont Thompson, 19, was charged with voluntary manslaughter in his death.
Bell was shot about 6:30 p.m. that day as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car, according to an investigative report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Surveillance cameras reportedly captured Bell and two friends interacting shortly before the shooting.
“Video then picked up a voice stating ‘he’s been shot’ and the other people present moving more quickly in the parking lot,” the report states.
Someone called 911 at 6:49 p.m., and first responders found Bell on his back outside the driver’s side door of the vehicle, according to the report. He’d been shot once in the left upper arm, but the bullet exited his arm and re-entered his left upper chest, causing fatal damage to his lungs, heart and other organs, his autopsy shows.
Thompson lives at the apartments where the shooting occurred, according to his arrest warrant. The investigative report states an unnamed friend of Bell’s went into his apartment and retrieved a 9 mm handgun, which the friend initially denied belonged to him.
“[The friend] later stated that it was his (the friend’s) gun, and that he had taken out the magazine and shot at the decedent as a joke, not realizing that there remained a bullet in the chamber,” the report says.
Thompson, who had no previous criminal history, was initially held without bail until Judge Doretta Walker modified his bail to $50,000 secured two days after the shooting, court records show. In her reasoning for doing so, Walker wrote that Thompson had strong community ties, with “entire half of courtroom full of family + friends assuring attendance in court,” his release order shows.
Thompson posted bond that same day and may not contact Bell’s family while he is out. He was indicted Feb. 16 on the voluntary manslaughter charge, court records show.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 8:49 AM.
