Victim of Drive-By Shooting Saved 2-Year-Old Niece

Relatives said Quincy Bowens, 15, lived in Chapel Hill and was a student at Smith Middle School there.

Tina Alston, Bowens' aunt, said her nephew was outside of her home at 2427-B S. Roxboro St. at around 7 p.m. Monday when the driver of a car fired several shots at him and buildings in the area.

"It was like pow pow pow ... rapid-fire shooting as he was coming up the hill," Alston said.

Durham police said Bowens was attempting to get Alston's daughter, Zyandrea, out of harm's way when he was shot. He was taken to Duke University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

"He saved my baby basically. He pushed her in the house before he could get in," Bowens' aunt said.

"He was young. He was an innocent bystander," Alston said. "He fell into the house and said, 'Aunt Tina, I've been hit.' Then my nephew fell to the floor."

Police said the shots came from a gold, older-model Saturn. The vehicle was last seen heading south on Cornwallis Road, authorities said.

Investigators said the vehicle was driven by a black man with a medium complexion and dreadlocks or braids. They also said there were conflicting reports about how many people were in the vehicle.