Terry Valentine called police after noticing suspicious activity in her neighborhood. DALLAS, N.C. — Terry Valentine wasn't expecting a simple call to law enforcement officials would give them the break they needed to take down a serial killer.

Awake at 2:30 a.m. by habit, the Dallas, N.C., woman noticed a sport utility vehicle pulling into a vacant home nearby. The presence of the vehicle aroused her curiosity and she watched for several minutes hoping to find out what was going on.

"It took a while for someone to get out of the vehicle," Valentine said. "After all, it's 2:30 in the morning and it's dark, so what could possibly be going on?"

Not knowing the motives of those at the 725 Dallas-Spencer Mountain Road residence, she called authorities, telling them it looked as though some sort of suspicious activity was occurring.

When she heard several gunshots coming from the home, she knew the situation was pretty serious.

"After no more than two minutes we heard police scream 'put it (the gun) down!,'" Valentine said. "Shortly after we heard an officer had been shot, and that's when the action really started and a bunch of police cars came down the road, surrounding the house."

Authorities haul away the Ford Explorer found at the scene where police in North Carolina opened fire on Patrick Tracy Burris, killing him. Burris shot at one of the officers, striking him in the leg. (Ledger photos / JOE L. HUGHES II) It didn't take long for word to spread across the rural Gaston County, N.C., community that a shootout had occurred, that a man had been killed and an officer injured.

The activity became a focal point of excitement. Some families pulled out lawn chairs and cameras hoping to get a glimpse of the action.

"We've been out here since 3 a.m.," said a Dallas, N.C. woman. "It's been something to see."

None of them could imagine they were watching a serial killer's run of terror come to an end.

Valentine had heard mention of the killing spree going on 35 to 40 miles down Interstate 85 in Cherokee County, never giving any mind to an artist's rendering of the man suspected of committing the crimes.

"I never got to see the man's face, only his general build and the fact he was driving a Ford Explorer," Valentine said. "But I didn't have any idea this man was in my neighborhood. He could have done something pretty bad."

Nearly 16 hours after the ordeal, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, along with a host of other law enforcement agencies confirmed the person behind the murders, Patrick Burris, 41, had been shot to death by police.

"(Burris) could have come up and killed everyone," Valentine said. "But I'm glad the police got him off the street."

Believing the serial killer would eventually be found, Gaston County residents were surprised he was in their own back yard.

"We thought the action was going on in South Carolina," said Stephanie Williams of Gastonia. "So when news spread that this man was here and killed by police officers, it was a sense of relief but it also makes you aware of everything and everyone."