16-year-old Durham boy who died Thursday is second child in family shot this week

Five people were shot in Durham late Thursday afternoon, including a 16-year-old boy shot on Truman Street who died at the hospital.

At a news conference, Police Chief Patrice Andrews said it was a “very tragic loss” and that the teen’s brother had been shot on the same street less than a week ago, though that boy survived.

“I am sad. I am very angry. There’s a lot of questions that I have about where have we gone wrong,” Andrews said at police headquarters Friday morning.

Mayor Leonardo Williams was similarly frustrated.

“These are mostly young Black boys under the age of 20,” WIlliams said. “We’re seeing the same face, a younger version of me. And that’s why it’s personal.”

The death was one of three shooting incidents in a two-hour span Thursday. Police have not said if any of the incidents were related.

“There is a lot to process here, a lot that we still don’t know,” Andrews said.

4 p.m. Truman Street

Officers responded to the first shooting around 4 p.m. in the 1200 block of Truman Street, a short residential street just outside the Hayti District south of downtown, according to a news release.

They found the 16-year-old bleeding from a gunshot wound in his chest and began CPR, Andrews said. The boy died in the hospital a couple of hours later.

Police said they will not provide the boy’s name since he was underage.

Andrews said a Black male with a handgun was spotted running from the scene and getting into a red Chrysler Sebring. Police began a brief chase, but stopped after determining it was unsafe.

Police later recovered the vehicle, which was stolen, on Hardee Street about 3.4 miles away, Andrews said.

Anyone who may have information is asked to call Investigator J. Berkstresser at 919-560-4440 ext. 29538.

5 p.m. Fayetteville Street

Shortly before 5 p.m., police responded to a second shooting near the intersection of Fayetteville Street and Linwood Avenue.

Officers did not find any victims there, but soon afterward a man and a boy who had both been shot arrived at a local hospital with what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, according to a police news release.

Another man with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound arrived at a hospital around the same time, police said.

Investigators determined all three were shot at that scene.

One of the victims, 31-year-old Javonnte Patterson, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.

6 p.m. Pettigrew Street

Shortly after 6 p.m., police responded to gunshots in the 300 block of West Pettigrew Street, just north of the American Tobacco Campus.

A short time later, a man who had been shot walked into the nearby bus station.

He was taken to a local hospital, where Andrews said he was in stable condition Friday morning.

A black Honda Accord stolen in Holly Springs was seen leaving that scene. Police are looking for that car.

How to help

Anyone with information about any of these shootings is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200 or online at durhamcrimestoppers.org.

CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

All of Thursday’s shootings had corresponding 911 calls, and police encourage anyone who sees suspicious behavior to call 911.

The Durham Police Department is about 75% staffed, which Andrews said is a challenge.

“The radio was on fire last night,” she said. “The officers are tired.”

Shootings down in Durham in 2024

The five people shot Thursday come at a time when shootings were trending down in the Bull City.

As of March 23, the latest statistics available, 33 people had been shot in Durham this year, four of them fatally.

That compared to 46 and 49 people shot by the same day in 2022 and 2021, respectively, with 12 fatalities in 2022 and six fatalities in 2021.

Many of them are concentrated in an impoverished area of eastern Durham.

“We’re not seeing it all over Durham, but what we are seeing is behaviors that are responsive to the environment,” Williams said.

Andrews said the general public shouldn’t be worried and that Durham is a safe place to live and visit.

“Despite what has happened, Durham is a beautiful place. We are vibrant community and don’t want to be defined by this moment, by the last 24 hours,” she said.

But Andrews encouraged families to have hard conversations before it’s too late.

“When will it stop? When will our kids, when will these adults start thinking about their actions before choosing to pick up a gun and shoot and kill each other?” she said.

Andrews said they are working with federal partners to end the violence. She was asked at the end of Friday’s news conference what her message was for those pulling the trigger.

“We will send you to prison for the rest of your life. We have the means and the ability to do it. I don’t care how old you are,” she said.