Student shot by police after suicide call

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating the police killing of a University of North Carolina student who had just called 911 from his car to say he was suicidal.

Courtland Benjamin Smith, 20, president of the UNC chapter of the DKE fraternity, was shot dead early Sunday, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported Tuesday. Smith, a junior from Houston, was majoring in biology at the university.

Police in Archdale said the officer who shot Smith is on paid leave. The shooting is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Susan Smith, the student's mother, said he was at a party at the fraternity house and witnesses said he was in good spirits at 2 a.m. EDT.

Smith's parents want to know what happened when Jeremy Flinchum of the Archdale Police Department pulled him over. Pharr Smith said his son did not own a gun.

"He was a good student; he was smart; he was handsome; he was the perfect child, and he was just the love of my life," Susan Smith said.