Double homicide reflects violent trend in Raleigh

Teleah Janae Richmond, 27, and Taferious Traquail Cannady, 24, were found shot to death on McGuire Drive, off Perry Creek Road, at about 11 p.m., police said.

A nearby resident called 911 to report hearing six or seven shots and said a sedan was parked outside some townhouses in the neighborhood with its running lights and brake lights on.

Earlier Monday night, a "sketchy" SUV was parked in the area, and someone was repeatedly honking the horn, the 911 caller said.

"It seemed like a very hostile situation," she said.

Many officers were still in the neighborhood six hours later. By about 6 a.m., investigators covered the red car in a white sheet and had a tow truck pull it away.

No other details about the case, such as a possible motive for the shootings or a description of the shooter, were available Tuesday.

Cannady's criminal record was limited to pending charges for aiding and abetting breaking and entering, resisting an officer and possession of marijuana, according to records.

"Collectively, it just breaks our hearts. We are in the business of saving, helping and removing risk factors and putting protective factors in place," said Tim Henderson of Haven House, a youth advocacy organization. "We know that you can’t save everyone ... but it’s so frustrating when that happens because, really, our goal is really to try to help everyone."

McGuire Drive residents said their neighborhood has experienced more violent incidents recently, which they attributed to gang activity.

"It's somebody's son, somebody's daughter. It's just something else," resident Felicia Ebron said. "I don't know, this area is getting really bad now."

Henderson and other community advocates said it's hard to say why there seems to be more violence lately.

"[With] such a surge, I'm thinking that's because of volume – more people, more kids, more kids on the street," he said. "Like anything else, the more opportunity you have, the more optimism there is. [If there's] less opportunity in terms of outlets and resources for kids to engage in pro-social activity, then I'm thinking that can result in negative and delinquent behavior."

"I pray that we can get things together and come together as a community to make it better," Ebron said.

Anyone with information that might assist detectives is asked to call Raleigh Crime Stoppers at 919-834-HELP or visit raleighcrimestoppers.org for text and email reporting options.