Friends want answers in Durham track coach's unsolved murder
DURHAM (WTVD) -- Outside the house where his life changed forever, Joshua Kalloo lets out a deep sigh. He remembers his friend and roommate Shareef Muhammad, a popular youth track coach gunned down in a home invasion one year ago Wednesday.
"I'm infuriated about it. I wish there was more evidence," said Kalloo. "He was a good person. I don't understand why bad things always have to happen to good people."
As he stood on the back patio of their rental home, Kalloo says two armed gunman came out of the bushes brandishing their weapons. They forced him back inside where five of his roommates, including Muhammad were forced to lay on the floor while the thieves ransacked their rooms. They were terrified, but Muhammad saw an opportunity to protect his friends.
"Shareef jumped up and he started fighting him," recalled Kalloo. "And the next thing you know, you started hearing shots fired. The other guy came out and he started firing shots."
Then gunmen shot Muhammad six times before fleeing the house, but not without warning his roommates that they could be shot. Shaken and in shock, Muhammad's roommates prayed over him and called for help. The surviving witnesses would later offer police different descriptions of the gunmen, according to Kalloo.
Muhammad's murder left the track and field community in shock. He was well-liked and a widely known volunteer youth coach with the Triangle Champions Track and Field Club in Durham. As a student at North Carolina Central University, he earned All-American status in the 400-meter hurdles from 2003 to 2007.
He poured his love of track and field into dozens of aspiring athletes. Friends say he would often sacrifice shifts at his job in his commitment to their development. He also encouraged his roommates, all of them NCCU students.
"If he was here, he would be waking me up saying get yourself to class, do your homework," said Kalloo, still recovering from that ill-fated night and the loss of his friend. "I hope for justice."
Durham investigators say the case is still active, but declined to offer additional details about potential leads.
Anyone with information at the case is urged to call Durham CrimeStoppers.
