Duke University Police Department officials identified 25-year-old Aaron Lorenzo Dorsey of Durham as the victim of the fatal March 13 officer-involved shooting.
DUPD officers Larry Carter and Jeffrey Liberto responded to a report of a suspicious person in front of Duke Hospital at approximately 1:09 a.m. Saturday. Dorsey attacked the officers and attempted to gain control of one of their guns, DUPD Chief John Dailey wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“After other options failed to stop the individual, the other officer discharged his firearm one time, fatally wounding Mr. Dorsey,” Dailey said in the statement.
In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Dailey declined to comment further on the incident, including whether Dorsey was armed and which officer fired his weapon.
Dailey said Saturday that there is no evidence Dorsey was a patient, employee or visiting family member or that the incident was gang-related.
During the incident, one officer suffered minor injuries. He was treated and later released by the Duke University Medical Center’s Emergency Department. Dailey declined to say which officer was treated and did not comment on the extent of his injuries.
The State Bureau of Investigation and DUPD are reviewing the incident as part of standard procedure in officer-involved incidents, Dailey said. Because those investigations are ongoing, Dailey said he could not comment further on details of the shooting.
“This is an incredibly significant incident in the community, so we are trying to strike a balance between what the community wants to know and maintaining the integrity of the investigation,” he said.
Patient care services and regular operations were not disrupted by the Saturday morning shooting. The hospital’s main entrance was secured and blocked after the incident, and a mobile command center was assembled outside until between 8 and 9 a.m. The Durham Police Department provided additional officers to help DUPD secure the scene.
Dailey said Carter and Liberto are receiving support through the employee assistance program and seem to be doing well. Carter has worked for DUPD for 23 years and Liberto has served for two.
Dailey added that DUPD morale remains high.
“We appreciate the support we’ve received from the Duke community—people asking how the officers are doing and how the department is doing and things like that,” he said.
It has been almost 28 years since Duke officers used deadly force, according to searches of several newspaper archives.
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