16-year-old Hillside High School student Jalen Thompson Johnson was shot and killed early yesterday as he donned a mask, claimed to be a police officer, and tried to kick in the door of a Durham, NC apartment. Unfortunately for Johnston, the homeowner was not only also armed, he was a better shot.

A teen was shot to death while trying to force his way into an apartment in Durham Monday morning, police said. The resident of the apartment was injured in the shooting.

Durham police responded to a report of a shooting at 12:42 a.m. in the 800 block of East Woodcroft Parkway at South Terrace at Auburn Apartments.

Police said that Jalen Thompson Johnson, 16, of Durham, was wearing a mask and was “apparently…attempting to force entry into an occupied apartment.”

Johnson and the man who lived in the home appeared to have exchanged gunfire, according to police. The man in the apartment was shot in the leg and transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

You’d almost be convinced by how WNCN covered the story that Johnson was the victim here, instead of a violent criminal.

The teenager left dead after the gunfire, Jalen Johnson, was a student at Hillside High School in Durham. The school’s principal, Dr. William Logan, said Johnson was a “great kid” and called his death a “loss to our school.”

Word about Johnson’s death spread quickly via social media and the school worked quickly to provide a way for students to grieve.

“Counselors from our team are here to assist the students,” Logan said.

Johnson was such a “great kid” that he committed armed robbery and shot a man during a home invasion while pretending to be a police officer.

The only thing Hillside High School lost when Jalen Johnson died was a criminal threat to the student body.

Fortunately the apartment owner did not fall for Johnson’s ruse and was able to defend himself.