Durham shooting stats show 2023 off to violent start

On the first day of January, five people were shot outside a Subway on North Miami Boulevard.

Now. on the final day of the month, four people were shot on Sudbury Road. Two of them did not survive.

The two men who died in this shooting have been identified as Jason Epps, 34, of Durham and Terence Kimble, 58, of Durham.

Shootings have been increasingly common since the beginning of the new year.

At least 20 people have been shot in Durham this month, with 96 shootings reported overall since the first day of 2023 – a higher number than the previous two years.

Here are the incidents we know about:

• January 1: Five shot Miami Blvd
• January 14: Man shot on E Club Blvd
• January 20: Man killed on Morreene Road
• January 27: Woman killed in Duke Park
• January 31: Four shot (two killed) on Sudbury Road

Top leaders in Durham spoke to WRAL News about the continuing issue

Any time there's a shooting in Durham, it hits home for the mayor and the chair of the county commissioners. It's not only happening in their home –it's a pain they, too, have personally experienced.

"This is an issue that the county and the city can't do separately. We have to do it together," said Brenda Howerton, chair of the Durham Board of County Commissioners.

For her, this violence is a personal issue that's impacted her firsthand.

"I've experienced it. I've had to take my child to the grave, and bury them -- and that is just something that you never get over," she said.

Durham's Mayor Elaine O'Neal is also passionate about preventing the violence. Both she and Howerton say it's their job they take seriously -- not just as elected officials, but as mothers.

O'Neal says providing stable housing is key.

"It all starts from housing. If you don't have basic housing, everything goes left from there," she said. "You also have to think about job training."

O'Neal says she's been engaged in a lot of work that people don't see – trying to address some of the basic issues that lead people to these violent interactions.

She's been working on securing a grant to focus on stable housing and working on job training programs.

"We are trying to do some of the work that hopefully will enhance living situations for folks and give them options for providing for their lifestyles, rather than the streets," she said.

The two women are working for a better Durham for the next generation.

"Brenda and I both still have sons, and there's not a day that goes by that you don't worry about them. That's real. That doesn't go away," said O'Neal.