Durham community fed up with violence after 6 shot within 8 hours: 'I'm tired of seeing this'
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Six people were shot within eight hours in Durham overnight Thursday into Friday.
People living in the city said they are fed up with the violence. Others said it feels like they can barely catch their breath before they see police lights descending on their neighborhood again.
"Everyone has an essential responsibility, and it's how you approach people," Believers United for Progress Executive Director Kasib Adbullah said. "We don't want to have this activity in our community. There's help for people to get, but I would say
from what I know of them, majority don't want to seek help. And that's the life that they have chosen."
The latest Durham shootings happened near the area of Fayetteville Street and Linwood Avenue as well as at Campus Crossings. The Campus Crossings shooting injured a 2-year-old girl.
No arrests have been announced in either shooting.
WATCH | 2-year-old girl among 3 shot near Durham apartment complex
"Sometimes I have to do an extra prayer in my house just to come outside. I stress hard that I don't catch a stray bullet, (or) get robbed," Jerry Smith, a Durham resident, said. "I'm tired of seeing this."
Last week, a three-year-old boy was shot in a drive-by shooting at a Walgreens on Fayetteville Street. That's less than a mile away from the Friday morning shooting.
"They're fed up, and I'm fed up right along with them," Durham Mayor Leo Williams said. He spent Friday calling on the community to step up and help. "People say they value (lives), but our actions speak louder than our words. And unfortunately, we're missing the
mark on that still."
Williams is promoting new programs aimed at reaching Durham's youth.
"We have we've got to push back on the gun violence. I need folks to know it's going to take a very holistic approach. One, I need folks. You see something, say something," Williams said.
In a video obtained by ABC11 loud gunshots could be heard before a car raced by followed by another vehicle that shots are being fired from.
A teenage mother, her two-year-old daughter, and her boyfriend were injured in the crossfire on Thursday evening.
"It's crazy man....that's crazy," said Sherard Johnson. "That's where we are in the city right now man, unfortunately. People just don't care."
Johnson's a pastor and the visionary behind RNS Sports, a nonprofit that tries its best to help combat violence.
"I'm trying to keep some of these kids out of the way...We just took a group of kids to Myrtle Beach," he said.
