A New Hampshire woman faces criminal charges and a civil rights complaint after shooting at a man in his car because he is Black.
The New Hampshire Attorney General filed a complaint against 67-year-old Diane Durgin, alleging multiple civil rights violations in connection with a shooting incident in October 2024.
The attorney general’s office says that Durgin threatened physical force against the victim and, after seeing that he was Black, drew a gun, pointed it at him, then threatened to kill him.
According to court documents obtained by WGME, the victim was trying to complete a prearranged purchase of a car part and mistakenly drove to Durgin’s home while looking for the correct property to finalize the transaction.
The victim told Durgin why he was there, explained that he was lost, and said he would leave, but Durgin allegedly continued aiming her gun at him and called him a “Black motherf—r.”
The state AG’s office stated that when he tried to drive away, Durgin fired two shots at his car.
The victim’s car reportedly veered off the driveway and into a ditch, and he fled on foot to the end of the driveway, where he called 911.
Durgin had also dialed 911 and told dispatchers the victim’s race and that she suspected he was trying to steal from her:
Dispatcher: “Why did you shoot at this person?”
Durgin: “Because he’s telling me, first of all, he’s lurking around my yard looking at stuff, my equipment yard. And then he’s telling me he’s supposed to be meeting a guy here. The guy is Black. And he, he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal.”
Dispatcher: “Okay, so you shot-“
Durgin: [talking over dispatcher]: “I shot at his car.”
Durgin was indicted by a grand jury in March 2025 on charges of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon, and attempted first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
The civil rights complaint alleges that Durgin exercised bias or prejudice against the victim’s race, which motivated the threats and attempted property damage.
Each violation of the Civil Rights Act is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $5,000.
The state AG has requested that a preliminary restraining order be filed against Durgin to prevent her from contacting the victim.
