18-year-old fatally shot in eastern Durham, one of two homicides Thursday

Police have identified a teenager fatally shot Thursday afternoon as 18-year-old Wahid Downey of Durham.

Officers responded to the shooting before 2:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Wabash Street near the McDougald Terrace housing community, between N.C. Central University and Durham Technical Community College.

They found a male, now identified as Downey, who had been shot. He died later at the hospital.

Police do not think the shooting was random.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator A. Cristaldi at 919-560-4440, ext. 29283 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

Downey was one of two people fatally shot in Durham on Thursday.

Police also found a man shot to death in the Hope Valley Farms area in southern Durham late Thursday night. His name has not been released, and police have not announced any arrests or suspects in the killing.

As of Aug. 13, there had been 469 shootings — incidents in which a gun was fired — reported in Durham this year, according to Police Department data. Those shootings led to 23 deaths and 125 people being injured.

In a work session Thursday, the Durham City Council talked about three violence-prevention efforts in anticipation of launching or renewing contracts on Sept. 19:

▪ ShotSpotter, a yearlong pilot gunshot surveillance system

▪ Bull City United, in which teams of “violence interrupters” attempt to mediate conflicts to prevent shootings

▪ Gang reduction strategies, including Project BUILD, which pairs youth with former gang members

The city’s annual spending for the programs is $1.3 million.