A record number of people got shot in Durham in 2020
A record number of people got shot in Durham in 2020, a year that saw gun violence spike in many cities across the state and the country.
A total of 318 people were shot in the Bull City last year compared to 189 people in 2019, according to newly released preliminary data from the Durham Police Department.
That is almost a 70% increase and the highest number of people shot in Durham since at least 2016, when the department began compiling the data..
Thirty-three of the people shot last year died, compared to 32 in 2019, according to the preliminary data.
Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis said during a November press conference that a small number of mostly young people were responsible for many of the shootings in the Bull City.
A reduction in Durham’s jail population to help stem fight COVID-19 had also had an impact on the gun violence, Davis said. Many of the shootings in Durham were gang-related drive-by shootings, she added.
The News & Observer asked to speak with Davis or deputy chiefs at the Durham Police Department for this story, but the department was unable to arrange a time for the interview.
In response to the shootings, the City Council recently agreed to partner with and expand the county health department’s violence interruption and outreach program, Bull City United, The News & Observer reported.
The program currently operates in Southside and McDougald Terrace, but the program could expand to Oxford Manor and Braggtown and an area encompassing Cornwallis Road.
37 total homicides
Overall there were 37 homicides in Durham in 2020 compared to 38 in 2019, the police numbers show. Two deaths were caused by “personal weapons,” one was caused by asphyxiation and one was caused by a blunt object.
Shooting victims in Durham ranged from babies not even a year old to people over the age of 65. There were 266 shooting victims between the ages of 16 and 44.
Forty-seven of the shooting victims were under the age of 18.
There were 31 domestic shooting incidents in which eight people were shot and one person died. There were two other domestic homicides not caused by shootings.
Shootings up in many cities
Many cities across the state and country have experienced spikes in violent crime similar to Durham’s.
Charlotte saw 122 homicides last year — the most in the city since 1993, The Charlotte Agenda reported.
A spokesperson for the Raleigh Police Department said it was was finalizing its shooting and homicide data from 2020 and that the information should be available in a few weeks.
Other cities in North Carolina also saw increases in the number of homicides. Greensboro had 60 homicides in 2020 compared to 46 in 2019, police data shows. That is an increase of about 36%.
Chicago saw homicides, most of them fatal shootings, rise by 50% in 2020 compared to 2019, as total deaths topped 750, NPR reported. Los Angeles saw a 30% increase in homicides, while New York City saw a 40% increase.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 8:32 AM with the headline "A record number of people got shot in Durham in 2020."