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It happened around 6 a.m. at the McDougald Terrace Apartments.
Police were called about the shooting near East Lawson Street and Wabash Street. Officers later found 27-year-old Carl Suitt Jr. in between two of the public housing community's buildings.
Authorities also found numerous shell casings in a nearby parking lot.
Police say no arrests have been made at this time.
Some residents at the apartment complex said they suspected gang violence, but Durham police say they do not believe that is the case.
"It's hard trying to raise a child in a neighborhood where you can't leave them unattended" one mother told ABC11. "You don't know what could happen ... she could be the next target."