The police are investigating the incident with a 50-year-old woman Tina Renee Medlin who shot at them first on Saturday morning in North Carolina, ABC News reported. The Highway Patrol said the details of this case were very complicated.
At first, it was reported that woman died after a trooper and a deputy shot back at her, according to the Highway Patrol. In some hours, Sgt. Mike Baker assured Medlin was in bad condition with critical wounds, but alive.
What exactly happened?
On the day of the incident, Trooper J. L. Taylor, a 16-year-veteran of the force, and Johnston County deputy Taylor Davis got a call to one car accident and were busy with the crash investigation near Benson in the early Saturday morning.
In the recorded radio tape from RadioReference.com, eyewitnesses claimed that in the car was a woman, she had a gun and wanted to commit suicide.
Tina Medlin was lying on the highway westbound lanes when they noticed her. Suddenly, she fired at Taylor and Davis, then they shot her back, Baker said. The officers did not get hit during the shooting, now they are on administrative leave during the investigation, which is a usual procedure in the officer-involved shooting.Since the 1990s, Medlin has problems with the law: charges in Wake County of resisting the police officer and assault on a government official four years ago.
Some details found
Johnston County Sheriff's Captain Jeff Caldwell said, one more deputy from his department was present during the incident.
Caldwell also stressed that the incident looked like a confrontation between the woman and officers, and she died at the hospital. There are no details who exactly of the officers shot her. Medlin was alive and taken to Wake Medical Center in Raleigh.
The State of Bureau of Investigation is trying to find more evidence to present it to the government.
In its news release, they asked the public about the situation during the incident and also about the car's speed and behavior. In the release, it can be seen the SUV turned off the side of the interstate, damaging its bumper in the front.
As the pictures from the scene showed, the damaged SUV was stopped on the grassy shoulder with its doors open.
The whole area across the incident was roped off with crime tape and the police agents with the SBI collected evidence. The westbound lanes were closed for more than 7 hours during the whole-day investigation and reopened at 1:30 p.m.
