As 5 hurt in drive-by shooting, Durham weighs reducing police force

Durham police said approximately 36 rounds were fired by four people in two vehicles near the intersection of Fayetteville Street and Linwood Avenue, near the "City of Gold" internet gaming cafe, shortly before midnight.

Officers responding to the scene found three men and a woman wounded. Another man arrived later at a local hospital and said he was shot at the same spot.

Four of the wounded were in serious condition Friday, police said, while the condition of the fifth person was unknown.

"There’s really no way to sugarcoat this," City Councilman Mark-Anthony Middleton said Friday. "Durham has now crossed a threshold and joined the very dubious club in our country. That was a mass shooting that occurred. Five people injured at one time, that is a mass shooting."

Hours before the shooting, the council voted to freeze 15 vacant positions in the Durham Police Department. If the city's proposed budget is approved, some – possibly all – of those positions would shift to the city's new Community Safety Department, which would have unarmed mental health professionals respond to emergencies.

Middleton said he supports expanding the availability of mental health assistance, but not at the expense of officers on patrol.

"At this point, we should be all hands on deck," he said. "We should be trying everything to save our children’s lives because that’s what’s at stake: our children’s lives."

Sheryl Smith, whose son was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2005, and Sandra Person, agree.

"I would think they would want more police officers because shootings are increasing, not decreasing," Smith said.

Durham can't find enough police officers, which concerns officials and residents alike

Through May 22, Durham had reported 291 shootings this year, down about 7 percent from a year ago, according to police department statistics. But the number of people shot had gone up by almost 5 percent, and the number of fatalities was nearly double from the same time in 2020.

"We just need more boots to the ground to have the violence stop [or] slow down – something," added Sandra Person, whose 9-year-old grandson was gunned down two years ago in a shooting that outraged Durham leaders and residents.

"We need those 15 plus 1,500 – maybe more – to get out there to show that they’re going to make a difference in Durham," Person said. "If we have more police out on the streets, that’s taking over your streets again."

"What’s the use of hiring another police chief if you’re not going to support that chief?" Smith asked. "I just want to see change in our city. I want to see them try to do everything they can to make Durham a safer place to live."

Anyone with information about Thursday's shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.