Durham neighborhood comes together to raise money for murder victim's family
DURHAM (WTVD) -- The Northgate neighborhood in Durham used its monthly food truck rodeo Thursday evening to raise money for a husband and father who was murdered.
"It's horrible that someone's working so hard that it comes to this," said Carol Henderson, who helped set up the fundraiser and who lives in the same neighborhood as the Joy Food Mart.
On July 4 around 12:45 a.m., Durham police were called to a robbery in progress at the convenience store at 2109 North Roxboro Street.
According to witnesses and surveillance video, investigators say 26-year-old Dmarlo Johnson pointed a 9mm handgun at 48-year-old Amer Mahmood who was working behind the counter.
Johnson demanded money and Mahmood took the drawer out of the cash register, placed it on the counter, and put his hands in the air.
Even though he did what he was told, Johnson walked around the counter and shot Mahmood twice. He fired another shot after Mahmood fell to the floor. Police said he then left to put the cash and cigarettes in his car before returning to fire another shot.
Johnson has since been charged with murder.
As for Mahmood's family, his wife fulfilled his wish for his body to be sent back to Pakistan. His wife and children live in Arizona. Her family set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for his funeral. Their goal is $10,000.
For many in the Northgate community, Mahmood was just the friendly face they'd come to expect behind the counter.
"He would talk, for hours if you had the time. He would talk to everybody, get to know everybody. He would talk about his kids all the time," said Shelley Reaves, who lives just down the street from the store.
"Maybe we'd share a smile or a brief hello, maybe a joke," said Debra Billieux Hawkins, president of the neighborhood association. "In a moment, he's gone."
Now the community Mahmood served is hoping to fill that account to its goal of $10,000.
