North Carolina police shoot man in response to "uptick" in crime in black neighborhood

A man was killed by police in Durham, North Carolina, Tuesday afternoon during what police said was a coordinated canvassing of a high-crime area of the city. Although police officials have declined to identify the race of the shooting victim, organizers in the Black Lives Matter Global Network have tweeted that the man killed was black.

Pictures from WTVD-TV's news helicopter showed a body on the ground covered by white sheets, amid a police cordoned-off crime scene.

During a press conference, Chief CJ Davis of the Durham Police Department said the shooting occurred around 12:30 p.m. local time, when police encountered a man on foot around 12:30 p.m. Eastern. 

"During a conversation [with officers], the man made a sudden movement toward his waistband and a struggle ensued," Davis said. "During the struggle the officers heard a gunshot. In response, an officer fired his weapon."

The shooting victim was not identified during the press conference, pending notification of his family, Davis said. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene. A firearm not belonging to Durham police was found next to the victim's body, Davis said.

The incident involved three uniformed officers from DPD's violent incident response team, which was patrolling a housing development in the McDougald Terrace neighborhood due to an uptick in robberies and violent crime, the chief said.

Police also declined to reveal the names and racial identity of the officers involved. One officer was taken to the hospital to treat a leg injury, although the officer was not shot during the incident.

Davis told reporters at the news conference that there is no body camera or dashboard camera footage of the Tuesday's shooting. The shooting is being investigated by state officials and the officers have been placed on administrative leave, the chief said.

Reached by phone, a representative of the North Carolina NAACP in Durham said the group was aware of Tuesday's shooting and had a team dispatched to the scene. They did not immediately have other details to share late Tuesday afternoon.

This story is developing and it will be updated.