Man killed in drive-by shooting on Raynor Street in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A man was killed in a deadly drive-by shooting Thursday afternoon on Raynor Street in Durham.

Police put up crime-scene tape around an area at Wellons Village shopping center. Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews was at the scene.

DPD said a man was shot and killed. EMS workers took the victim to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

On Friday, police identified the victim as Benjamin Francois Morris, 43, of Raleigh.

Officers responded to the scene just before 3:30 p.m. after a ShotSpotter alert as well as an officer reporting hearing shots fired in the 1000 block of Raynor Street.

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Shoppers at nearby Village Shopping Center in East Durham said there is a lot of violence in the area.

Five people were injured earlier this year in a drive-by shooting at the shopping center.

"It's unfortunate because it's the busy shopping area," Chrissy said.

She moved from Durham years ago but is back for a funeral to bury Another victim of gun violence.

"I have lost a number of people as well as family members to gun violence here in Durham. I don't know who needs to get involved to prevent this from continuing to happen," Chrissy said.

The shooting comes hours after City Councilor Leonardo Williams filed his candidacy for Durham's next mayor where he will be tasked with handling the violence in the Bull City.

He said it starts with being a good neighbor, investing in communities like East Durham, and supporting community policing.

"Violence is going to happen our job is to mitigate and reduce it as much as we can and always have the golden goal of zero violence," Williams said. "We have to make sure that our first responders, and while they are conceptually reactive, that they are building those proactive relationships."

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Investigator D. Bussell at (919) 560-4440 ext. 29254 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.

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