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Family says teen accused of shooting 3 Durham students was a 'good kid' with no prior criminal history

Two 16-year-old boys are dead and another 16-year-old boy is in the hospital from a shooting in Durham on Tuesday.

Posted Updated

By
Sarah Krueger
, WRAL Senior Durham reporter
DURHAM, N.C. — Jorge Raul Benitez-Mendoza, the 18-year-old charged in a shooting that killed two 16-year-old students injured another, appeared before a judge on Thursday.

Benitez-Mendoza has no prior criminal history.

His step-sister, who came to court to support him, told WRAL News her brother is "a good kid."

Benitez-Mendoza was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. Benitez-Mendoza was booked in jail at 10:30 p.m. after his arrest in the 1000 block of Carroll Street.

Jorge Raul Benitez-Mendoza, the 18-year-old charged in a shooting that killed two 16-year-old students injured another, will appear before a judge on Thursday.

However, the defendant's step-sister said she does not believe he is guilty of that. She told WRAL News she does not believe he's involved in any gangs – and she's not even sure he has a gun.

He was working part-time at Walmart and had been attending Riverside High School until last year, where he was last enrolled as a 9th grader. One of the victims also attended this school.

She did acknowledge that Benitez-Mendoza did have some rough patches as a kid, saying he acted up a bit – but she said he had matured. She said the family moved to Durham a few years ago hoping to provide a more positive environment for him – but she says they came to find out they moved to the wrong area.

Three teenage friends shot near a middle school

The three 16-year-olds shot in Durham Tuesday night – two of them fatally – were all Durham Public Schools students. The three teens were friends, according to family of one victim.

According to officials, it took police hours, searching with drones, K9s and officers on foot, to find the two bodies in the woods.

Family and friends identified the two students who died as Angel Canales and Osmar Banegas. The third teen, who was not identified, was in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The cousin of Canales shared that he was such a loving person.

Police investigating homicide near Durham middle school

"He was a sweet loving boy; he never failed to make anyone laugh. Everyone loved him. He was caring, he cared about everyone, he always made sure people were okay," said Canales cousin. "I just can't understand why him; I grew up with him and to know that I won't be able to see him again hurts."

Banegas attended Lakeview Secondary School. The other two went to Riverside High School with the suspect.

Canales' cousin said her family did not recognize the suspect's name and they weren't familiar with him.

As police work to find a motive, family members and city leaders are troubled knowing two 16-year-olds are the youngest homicide victims in the city this year.

"It's scary that 12 to 24-year-olds in the city are the folks we have to watch out for that is engaged in this behavior," said Leonardo Williams, Durham City Councilman.

Tuesday night following the shooting, the Durham Fire Department deployed a drone for several hours and the Durham County Sheriff's Office sent out their cadaver dog to search the area for additional victims.

The investigation continued into Wednesday morning near the intersection of Hudson Avenue and North Buchanan Boulevard. Brogden Middle School was placed on secure status during part of the morning, while the investigation continued.

This makes at least 11 people under the age of 18 shot in the city so far this year. Of the 13 homicides in the city so far this year, these two are the youngest victims. Police have made arrests in only four of the homicide cases.

Durham City Council recently approved $1 million for violence interrupter programs, which aim to stop the cycle of shooting and retaliations through street outreach, conflict mediation and social support. In addition, county commissioners will continue their portion of the funding of more than $935,000.

When asked about the programs, Williams responds about how they can make a difference.

"They are effective but nothing is effective enough when it's in isolation," said Williams. "Housing stability is a factor that plays a role. job security plays a role in this."

Families, neighbors share pain, concern over teens shot

More than a dozen loved ones were at the shooting scene Wednesday morning hugging and crying.

The emotions hit nearby neighbors as well.

"There's already enough going on out here to have to worry about kids getting shot every day," said Robert McIntyre, a nearby resident. "People shouldn't have to worry about if their 16-year-old is going to come [back] to the house."

McIntyre thinks most of this violence stems from young people being too proud to talk about their issues.

"I think young people need to check their pride," he said.

He said young people are so ready to shoot each other, but they don't realize that violence isn't the solution.

"That ain't going to solve nothing," McIntyre said.

Joy Haywood, another nearby resident, said this incident is really upsetting, and she hopes it will help bring the community back together.

"You fear enough as a 30-year-old person," Haywood said. "For a teenager to have to deal with this on a regular basis is just heartbreaking. We've got to look out for each other."

DeWarren Langley, executive director for the Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation, said, "It's senseless and tragic to see two young lives that have now been altered by gun violence."

"There's an urgent need for action to address this crisis. It's not enough to simply mourn their passing or offer condolences to their families. We must take concrete steps to prevent these tragedies," said Langley.

DPS students form group to press for better mental health

DPS Students for Mental Health sent WRAL News a statement regarding the recent increase in student deaths.

"We are a class of regular high school students that experienced the shooting near Hillside and Durham School of Technology on Feb. 8th, and the multiple lockdowns that followed," the statement read. "This made our mental health even worse than it was before."

"As a class, we decided we want to make a change for not only our generation but also the upcoming generation of scholars."

They said they are tired of nothing happening, so they are taking matters into their own hands.

"We are done sitting on the sidelines asking for help," they stated. "And our feelings are being pushed aside and just pushed under a rug. We are tired of our words being twisted, we are tired of being stressed, and we are tired of constantly being told to speak up, speak out and use our voice but nothing is happening."

The group completed a survey of students and community members, hearing from 650 people so far.

"95% of the people said we need more mental health days and more mental health resources in our DPS high schools."

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