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No charges in fatal shooting of Irma evacuee at hospital

The DA says he won't charge the police officers who fatally shot a 76-year-old Florida man who evacuated due to Hurricane Irma and fired shots inside a hospital where he sought treatment.
Credit: NBC Charlotte
File

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina prosecutor says he won't charge police who fatally shot a 76-year-old Florida man who evacuated due to Hurricane Irma and fired shots inside a hospital where he sought treatment.

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said Thursday the two officers who shot Joseph Charles Cook of Deland, Fla., were responding to an active shooter in a hospital.

RELATED: Armed man fatally shot by Huntersville Police was 76-year-old Irma evacuee

Merriweather's report includes security camera photos showing Cook dressed in a gown and walking the hallway outside his hospital room with what appears to be a small handgun. The DA says Cook had already fired two shots in his room at Novant Health Medical Center in Huntersville.

Huntersville police officers Travis Watts and Michael Joseph shot Cook at least eight times at a nurse's station.

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