Shootout.

Shortly after 9 p.m. on October 30, 2003, in Greensboro, North Carolina, Thomas Alston was watching television with his girlfriend. A man knocked at the door, and, after Alston opened it, the stranger asked for a ride, then pulled a gun. Alston drew his own handgun and the pair exchanged what neighbors who heard the gunfire estimated at eight to ten shots.

The assailant, Chester Lane, dropped to the sidewalk with wounds to his chest and right thigh. He later died at a local hospital. Alston was not injured.

Lane had an extensive criminal record spanning a dozen years, including convictions for possession of cocaine in 1991 and 2001, driving while intoxicated in 1992 and 1998, receiving stolen goods in 1993, taking indecent liberties with a 13-year-old girl in 1994 (he served two-and-one-half years in prison for that offense), larceny in 1998, and disorderly conduct in 1999. At the time of his death he was being sought by authorities for failing to report to his parole officer, as ordered by the court following the 2001 drug conviction.