Durham police investigating after man, 21, found dead in pickup truck
The Durham Police Department is investigating the fatal weekend shooting of a man found unconscious in a truck east of downtown.
Officers responding to a call at 12:06 a.m. Saturday found Marcos Perez unconscious in a pickup truck beside a house on the 700 block of North Hyde Park Avenue, according to a news release.
The 21-year-old Perez was taken to the hospital, where he died.
The News & Observer has asked Durham police for more information about the shooting, and whether a suspect or motive has been identified.
8th person shot, 2nd death in 4 days
Perez was at least the second person killed and the eighth person shot in the city over four days.
Seven people were shot, and one of them, Larry Wynne Jackson Jr., was killed between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, police said.
Neighbors in the McDougald Terrace community, where four people were shot, described grabbing towels to staunch the victims’ bleeding. Mayor Steve Schewel praised their “incredible” response in a Friday briefing with reporters..
The News & Observer asked the Police Department on Monday if it had leads on any suspects and the current medical conditions of those shot, but was told there was no update.
“Investigators are still trying to determine if any of the cases are related,” spokesperson Kammie Michael added in an email.
Shooting injuries and deaths
As of Aug. 14, 158 people had been shot in Durham this year. Of those, 26 people were shot fatally.
While the number of people shot was down from 183 as of the same day in 2020, the number of people killed by shootings was higher than in either of the previous two years.
Police ask anyone with information about the Saturday shooting to call 919-560-4440, ext. 29336 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips leading to arrests in felony cases.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 3:39 PM.