St. Augustine's Student Shot To Death In Apartment

Demond Wright, 24, was shot and murdered inside his Washington Terrace apartment on Booker Drive in southeast Raleigh around 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Police say two suspects took off in the victim's car and abandoned it blocks away. They believe robbery could be a motive.

Students on campus were surprised to hear about Wright's death.

"I was more hurt than shocked," says Wright's friend, Ronneil Robinson. "I didn't think nobody hated him like that. I didn't think it would come down to this."

Wright's neighbors are concerned the shooting could hurt the neighborhood's image. Police say crime has not been a big issue in Washington Terrace for years.

"The neighborhood is really clean. It's kept well," says Lt. Gerald Britt of the Raleigh Police Department. "We really haven't had any crime that amounts to anything there in quite sometime."

An independent evaluation of the crime risk at American colleges questionsstudent safety in neighborhoods. St. Augustine's College ranked 73rd in the nation with a risk factor of 9. The risk factor is on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being the most dangerous.

Police say Wright's roommate was home during the shooting. He gave a statement to the police, but he is not considered a suspect at this point.