The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an isolated, domestic shooting that occurred on the eastern edge of the county in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A release from the office said deputies responded to a shooting call just after midnight on Spruce Pine Trail — a road off Old NC 10 near Durham County. Upon arrival to a residence, the sheriff’s office said deputies found a woman with a single gunshot wound to the forehead.
The victim, identified by investigators as 75-year-old Cheryl Garner Medlin, was transported by EMS to Duke Hospital. As of Sunday morning, the sheriff’s office described her as having “a severe injury.”
51-year-old Paula Lee Decoteau, the daughter of Medlin, is charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Two other people in the same house as Decoteau told investigators that the mother-daughter pair got into an argument. The sheriff’s office said these people heard “a single gunshot, but they did not observe the shooting.”
Afterward, Decoteau allegedly came into the room where the other two occupants were, took their phones and did not allow them to leave for several minutes. The sheriff’s office said the pair of people were allowed by Decoteau to call 911 about 15 to 30 minutes later. When exiting the room in which they were kept, one of the occupants secured a 22-caliber rifle that was in the residence.
In addition to the assault charge, Decoteau also faces two charges of second-degree kidnapping for her treatment of the other occupants and assault on a government office after kicking a deputy in the chest while being put under arrest. The 51-year-old is being held under a $500,000 bond at the Orange County Detention Center.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in its release that because the shooting was a domestic incident, there is no greater danger to others in the community.
The investigation is ongoing and investigators requested in Sunday’s release that anyone who may have heard or seen the shooting get in touch with Lt. Dawn Hunter at 919-245-2907.
Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
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