Durham chief addresses recent shootings: 'Durham is not immune to this continued trend'

In 2022, at least 16 people have been shot and killed in Durham, according to data released by the police.

Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews held a media briefing Wednesday afternoon to discuss recent shootings in the Bull City.

“Violent crimes have been on the rise in our community and nationally,” Andrews said. “The city of Durham is not immune to this continued trend.

“These single acts of violence forever change lives, and we continue to think of those affected and have been affected by gun violence.”

Andrews said Durham police officers would work with crime analysis and intelligence units to focus on areas affected by gun violence in the next 90 days.

“We centralized our Violent Crime Unit in an effort to focus on shooting cases,” Andrews said of the department's prior efforts to curb violent crime.

Andrews said the unit has worked within the Durham Police Department and outside law enforcement agencies. She also addressed what the department is going to do given that Durham has had at least seven shootings since Friday afternoon, with 11 people wounded and four dead over the time span.

“Despite their tireless work, we realize that this effort alone is not enough,” Andrews said. “Therefore, the decision has been made to form a secondary specialized unit to further address the violent crimes in our community, specifically the gun crime.”

A spokesperson with the Durham Police Department said Andrews and her executive staff made the decision to form the secondary specialized unit.

During Wednesday afternoon's news conference, Andrews also addressed staffing issues.

"We don't improve staffing in three months," Andrews said. "It takes six months to send someone through the academy."

Andrews said the police department has "slowed the frequency" in which it loses officers. She said the department has not considered calling in a secondary entity to assist the department with hiring.

"The city of Durham government has been extremely supportive of providing us the resources that we need to combat the gun violence and really violent crime in our community," Andrews said. "From our community members, we need tips, we need information, it is extremely frustrating to myself and to our staff and our investigators when we have shootings and not just, especially non-fatal shootings, and we have these shootings and no one saw anything or no one wants to cooperate.

"...Even what that happens, the investigation does not stop. Our investigators just have to work from ground zero, and it makes their work extremely difficult. So, if you witness any of these events, if you know something, you live in this community too. You want the police department to do something, but you also have to be willing to take that step."

One person died and a teenager was taken taken to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries from shootings around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday near Alston Avenue and Juniper Street. Andrews the shooting was motivated by road rage. It happened near a BP gas station.

Police also responded to a shooting in the 500 block of West Carver Street around 10 p.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday, Andrews said a woman answered the door, and was then shot and killed. Police are not sure if this shooting was targeted or random.

"It goes back to the same issues: Poverty, lack of access to job opportunity, lots of access to guns," O'Neal said.

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O'Neal hoped to bring more of a "community perspective in terms of interacting directly with some of the folks who are most affected by [gun violence]."

Durham's Community Safety and Wellness Taskforce will meet Wednesday night. The impact of gun violence and discussion about a new pilot program to tackle crime are among the topics that will be addressed.