Another weekend, more violence in Durham

"It somehow has become a place where anything goes," Durham resident Laura Betye said.

"It is happening so much, my biggest fear is folks are getting numb to it," agreed Leonardo Williams, co-owner of Zweli's Kitchen & Catering.

Durham police didn't respond to repeated requests from WRAL News for comment on Monday.

The most recent statistics WRAL was able to obtain show 17 homicides in Durham in May, a nearly 90 percent jump from the same month in 2020.

Anti-violence group expanding in Durham as shootings escalate

"These incidents are really hitting home," Williams said, noting that a young man he recently hired at his restaurant was wounded in another shooting this weekend.

The ongoing violence was among the issues that pushed Williams to run for City Council as Durham searches for a new police chief and works to fill dozens of vacancies in the police department.

"What we're trying to do is position the young men and others, position them to the point that all they have to do is make a choice: the choice to do better or choice to stay the same," he said. "This young man made a choice to do better, but the streets still grabbed him."

"We have nonprofits, we have committees, we have commissions, [and] we have funding. But there’s not much of a coordinated effort," he said. "So, one thing I’m going to do is make sure that we're bringing all of those resources to the table."

"We all have particular needs, but we must never forget that we are together," Betye said. "If we work as a group, we will overcome everything. But we are a work in progress."