WakeMed psychiatric nurse mourned after she’s killed in Durham. Patient is in custody
A nurse practitioner at a Durham outpatient clinic is being mourned after she died following a patient’s attack this week.
June Onkundi, who was working at a Freedom House Recovery Center clinic in Durham, was fatally stabbed Tuesday by a patient at the clinic, family members confirmed to ABC11, The News & Observer’s news partner.
Onkundi was a psychiatric nurse practitioner and registered nurse at WakeMed.
The suspect, James Gomes, 47, of Durham, was found at the scene of the crime and arrested the same day, police said. Gomes is charged with first-degree murder charge and is currently jailed without bond, according to an arrest warrant.
Police responded before 2 p.m. on Tuesday to a call of a woman being stabbed outside Durham Outpatient Services. Emergency responders at the scene hospitalized the woman, later identified by the family as Onkundi.
The attack occurred a block over from Duke Regional Hospital Health Services Center. Police did not respond to The News & Observer’s request for further details on the incident, including how Gomes obtained a weapon used in the attack.
Freedom House Recovery Center is a licensed facility under the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation, a spokesperson told The N&O.
The state health department did not disclose whether DHSR is investigating the incident.
Nurse’s “senseless death” mourned
An online GoFundMe fundraiser has been organized to raise $100,000 for Onkundi’s family.
“We are heartbroken by the senseless death of our colleague and fellow NCNA member, June Onkundi,” said North Carolina Nurses Association President Meka Ingram in a statement. “Our prayers go out to her friends and family. She dedicated her life to helping others and we should all be proud of the positive impact she had on some of the most vulnerable patients. Her loss has shaken the nursing profession throughout North Carolina.”
A statement shared by WakeMed described her as having “a passion for working with those suffering from mental illness.”
Onkundi worked at WakeMed since 2018. She was a nurse in the 1C Clinical Evaluation Area, which has nurses who treat mental health patients, according to the hospital.
Family members told ABC11 that Onkundi was going to begin a doctorate program at Duke next year to further her work.
“Violence in the workplace is one of the greatest challenges facing nurses, and the problem has grown exponentially over the last few years,” said Ingram. “It is my desperate hope that June Onkundi’s death serves as a turning point and that those of us in healthcare can truly begin to address this problem.”
History of violent crime
The suspect in the stabbing was out on parole, Durham court records show.
Gomes has a history of convictions related to attacking women. He was convicted in 2005 for first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping, according to the Department of Public Safety.
In 2019, he was convicted on charges related to kidnapping, assaulting a female and assault by strangulation.
