Durham police identify victims in double homicide

Officers responded around 12:20 a.m. to the 100 block of Lodge Street after officers in the area heard gunshots. Police said they found a man and a woman dead inside a car that had crashed into a minivan.

Nearby residents said they heard about seven shots.

"Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, and then a boom," Fontella Bass said. "We looked out the window, and there was a car accident."

Natividad Flores, who owns the minivan, said he didn't hear anything until his car alarm went off.

Police identified the victims as Larry Alford, 40, and Brenda Whitaker, 34, both of Durham. But investigators haven't released any other details, such as a possible motive or potential suspects.

Many in the neighborhood said they were frightened but not shocked by the shooting. Bass said hearing shots is not uncommon, and there have been several violent acts in the area since she moved in 2014.

"We done had like three shootings, two killings and this guy I used to rent from got shot," she said, adding that one of her neighbors was killed in November while standing outside about a block away. "It's scary."

Despite the violence, Bass said she has no plans to move.

"With God, I'm OK. I believe. I have faith," she said.