Law Agencies Investigate Series Of Early-Sunday Events

The early-morning chain of events began Sunday at a BP gas station at Poole and New Hope roads just after 5 a.m. when a woman was carjacked, Raleigh police said.

At about the same time, Wake County sheriff's deputies began investigating a shooting after the alleged victim called authorities from a local hospital claiming he was shot in the leg at a party off of Barrington Road -- just a few miles away from where the carjacking occurred. The victim was treated and later released.

"Was it a coincidence? We don't know," said Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison. "But the car that was involved in the carjacking was in the same area where this party was. Is it related to our shooting? We don't know that."

Not long after the shooting, authorities said, a deputy found the stolen car crashed into a utility pole on Barwell Road. The driver was gone.

When the deputy pulled over to report the accident, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, a drunken driver then sideswiped the officer's patrol car. The officer was not injured.

"From that point forward, the deputy chased the driver a half a mile down the road where the suspect did give up," said Sgt. Jeff Gordon with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. "He was placed under arrest."

Now, investigators with all three agencies are trying to figure out what happened. Raleigh police said its investigators are following the lead of sheriff's investigators.

"When you have three investigations going on at one time, there are some obstacles that you have to overcome," Gordon said.