News and Observer
DURHAM, N.C. — Whoever fired the bullet that struck a Durham police officer in the abdomen Thursday should have known police were standing outside the door, Police Chief Jose L. Lopez Sr. said.
Officer D.J. Youmans, a Durham officer for less than two months, and his training officer, Cpl. B.D. Schnee, were responding to a shots-fired call, which was upgraded to a burglary in progress, at the South Square Townhomes on Shannon Road about 4 a.m. Thursday. Officers at a nearby police substation heard the gunshots and were headed to the area when emergency dispatchers notified them of the burglary in apartment 5-A, Lopez said.
Officers announced their presence at the front door of the apartment, Lopez said. They were met by bullets through that same door. Youmans, 32, was struck in an area unprotected by his bulletproof vest, just above his waist. He was listed in stable condition Thursday after undergoing surgery at Duke Hospital.
Thomas Rashawn Monroe, 23, whose listed address is the apartment, was charged Thursday afternoon with assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. He was in the Durham County jail Thursday evening in lieu of $250,000 bail.
None of the officers returned fire, something Lopez praised.
“The reality of it is they had no targets to shoot at,” he said. “You have to know who you’re shooting at. You can’t just shoot randomly into the dark or into [a] space if you don’t know what’s behind it. The big concern is once the officer is injured, that he is removed safely.”
Monroe was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in 2005 and of drug possession in 2006.
Investigators on Thursday were looking for the weapon used in the shooting. Four people who were inside the apartment were questioned by police, who executed a search warrant at the home Thursday afternoon.
Youmans was one of two Triangle police officers who faced gunfire Thursday. Raleigh Police Sgt. B.D. Allen’s vehicle was riddled with bullets while he pursued bank robbery suspects late Thursday morning. He was not hit.
Youmans was a New York City police officer from 2003 to 2008. His last assignment was patrolling the public housing areas in northern Manhattan, including the Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods, the department said. Youmans became a Durham officer in May.
The last Durham officer shot in the line of duty was injured during a similar call. Officer D.B. Vereen was responding to a break-in call on Cherrycrest Drive in September 2007 when he was shot in the arm and upper back. Gunfire was exchanged after Vereen confronted two suspects in the back of the home.
Resident calls area quiet
The South Square complex, which takes up both sides of Shannon Road between University Drive and Martin Luther King Parkway, is near the South Square shopping area in western Durham. Crime scene tape stretched throughout the parking lot where the shooting occurred. At least nine evidence markers were placed outside the apartment.
Keyetta Green, who has lived in the complex since 2006, thought she heard machine-gun fire when the shooting happened. She initially thought the shots were from a drive-by shooting.
“I do not like cops getting shot,” said Green, 30, who has lost loved ones to gun violence. “Cops try to help us. This is going to tear his family apart.”
The area is generally quiet, but a few robberies targeting Hispanics last year, said Roger Hayes, who has lived in the complex for two years.
“I think it was a random act,” said Hayes, 36. “I haven’t seen or heard anything like that happen here. Last night could’ve been any night.”
The shooting Thursday demonstrates how dangerous being a police officer can be, Lopez said.
“This reminds us of how courageous the officers are who do this day to day, knowing that these incidents are likely,” he said. “We need people to continue to pray for him in order for him to get through this.”
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