bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632
DURHAM -- The Orange County's Sheriff's Office thought it was looking for a shooter in a red pickup truck who for no reason shot another man in eastern Orange County.
But after a short investigation, deputies learned that the "victim" actually shot himself accidentally but didn't want to admit it.
Daniel Lee Cagle, 22, called 911 about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday and reported that he had been shot in the knee. He told sheriff's investigators that he was walking near 933 Spruce Pine Trail off Old No. 10, Durham, an address that is in Orange County, when a man in a red truck drove up.
"At first he said a guy in the red truck pulled up and shot him for no reason," said Lt. Barry Walker of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Cagle gave a description of the truck and sheriff's deputies began searching for it.
But a short time later, investigators learned he accidentally had shot himself inside of a house. He went to another house down the street to report the shooting.
An investigator went to the house where he shot himself and recovered the gun, and a witness confirmed that Cagle had shot himself, Walker said.
Cagle was transported to a hospital for treatment for his wound, Walker said.
Cagle is a felon and a registered sex offender. He was convicted in June 2004 of second-degree kidnapping of a minor.
