“Something just bit me”: Last words of woman killed on July 4th by celebratory gunfire

Every shooting is a tragedy. But it is far worse when someone perishes as the result of rounds fired up in the air to celebrate.

A 74-year-old North Carolina woman died after being struck by a bullet fired into the skies in “celebratory gunfire” for July 4, police said.

The victim, named as Paulette Thorpe, was rushed to the hospital in Durham after being hit around 11 p.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

Durham Police Chief Cerelyn Davis issued a statement attacking the “small few” who “chose to put our community at risk by carelessly firing guns into the air” during otherwise peaceful celebrations.

“Ms. Thorpe’s death reminds us that we as a community must work together to prevent these senseless acts, so that no family suffers such a tragedy ever again,” Davis said.

The horrific incident happened as Thorpe and several neighbors were celebrating the holiday at a house in the 500 block of Burlington Avenue.

“We were just talking, I was talking to her, we were all conversating, when all of sudden out of nowhere, something came out and hit her kind of in the chest,” Thorpe’s friend Michael Peaks told local news outlet CBS 17.

“We thought it was a bug or something. She jumped and said, ‘damn, something just bit me’.”

But police say Thorpe was hit by a stray bullet that someone fired into the air.

“When the paramedics got here, they foreseen what the deal was and took her straight to Duke [hospital],” said Peaks. “They knew they had to move fast.”

Police say Thorpe died a short time after arriving at the hospital. Neighbors endearingly referred to Thorpe as “Miss Pauline,” and said she was loved by many in the community.

“She was quiet, she tend to her own business, but she was always a well-dressed woman,” said Linda Leake, who says she was friends with Thorpe. “Every time you see her, she was always made up and everything. She was a very sweet person, very friendly. And I’m going to miss her. I really am.”

Police do not know yet who fired the gun or from where. However, neighbors suspect it came from the nearby park.

As they cope with the loss of their friend, they hope the person who took Thorpe’s life will give themselves up.

Leake added, “It’s senseless; you don’t be shooting up in the air, because you know bullets don’t have no names on them.”