7 people shot, 1 killed in Durham since Friday night, police and sheriff’s office say

Seven people have been shot since Friday night in Durham, police and the Sheriff’s Office reported. At least one person has died.

In the first shooting, officers responded at 10:15 p.m. Friday to reports of a gunshot wound on Crest Street. They found Blaine Thomas, 23, with a gunshot wound, according to a police report. Witnesses said a car had stopped in front of the residence and someone in the car began shooting, a release from the Durham Police Department stated.

About half an hour later, officers responded to a report of someone wounded by a gunshot on Woodcrest Street. They found a 17-year-old male with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Witnesses said a vehicle stopped in front of a parking lot and someone in the car started shooting, according to the release, which did not give the teen’s name.

On Sunday at around 12:30 a.m., officers reported to hospitals after three adults came in with gunshot wounds. Witnesses say a car stopped outside a home on Duck Pond Court and an occupant started shooting, the release stated.

Then around 12:45 p.m. Monday the Durham County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident on Cheek Road, where two people were shot. One of them, Damario Isiah Poole, 31, of Durham, died, according to a news release. The name and condition of the second person was not released.

The weekend shootings follow incidents earlier this month when 10 people, including three children, were injured in two overnight shootings in Durham. One of them, 12-year-old Tyvien McLean, a sixth-grader at Lowe’s Grove Middle School, died five days later.

In 2019 there were 652 shooting incidents reported to Durham police; 190 people were injured, including 32 who died, The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun have reported.

Duke Divinity School student

Thomas is a student at Duke Divinity School. His family told the Tallahassee Democrat he was in critical but stable condition. His family said Thomas and his roommate were helping a neighbor who had gotten locked out of his car when Thomas was shot

“Blaine is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. He is always willing to help others and is currently attending school at Duke Seminary to become a chaplain in their Masters program,” Blaine’s older sister, Carly Thomas, wrote in a GoFundMe description. The GoFundMe had raised more than $50,000 from more than 800 people as of Monday afternoon.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 5:31 PM.