Police name man shot to death in southern Durham, city’s 20th homicide this year

This story was updated May 22, 2023.

One man was killed and another injured Thursday afternoon, the second fatal shooting in the Bull City in under 24 hours.

Officers responded to a gunshot wound call in the 300 block of Avon Lake Drive. around 4:32 p.m., according to a Durham Police Department news release. The address is just east of Hope Valley Farms and off Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

They found two men, one of whom was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was taken to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.

On Monday police identified the dead man as 21-year-old Desean Monroe of Durham.

Police have not released any other information except to say the shooting does not appear to have been a random incident.

It came just hours after Police Chief Patrice Andrews reported an increase in shooting incidents and homicides during a first quarter crime update to the Durham City Council.

Violent crime down, property crime up

Overall violent crime — homicide, rape, aggravated assault — was down 11.4% compared to the same period last year, the chief said.

But homicides were up 27.3%, with 14 homicides during the first quarter and, with Thursday’s fatal shooting, 20 people killed so far this year.

The 14 homicides during the first quarter of this year is also up from the city’s three-year average of 10 homicides during the first quarter.

Property crime was up 11.2% and rose in every category, Andrews told the council, with Hyundais and Kias replacing Hondas as the most common cars stolen.

There were 297 cars stolen in Durham during the first three months of the year, a 59.7% increase, according to police statistics. Many of the owners had left their cars running or their keys in the car, she said.

Durham Police Department vacancies

Staffing remains a problem, the chief said.

There were 109 vacancies among the department’s 540 sworn officers, Andrews told the council.

“Just within the last few weeks we have lost officers,” she said, with about 31 more scheduled to retire during the next two years.

“What it means at this point in time we are still not keeping pace with where we need to be to start to dig out from where we are, the deficit that we have for staffing,” she said.

The department has stepped up recruitment and begun making conditional offers to candidates who pass physical and written tests while background checks are still underway.

“The idea is to really get them before someone else gets them,” Andrews said.

On Monday, the Durham Police Department announced its next two hiring events will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. June 1 and June 22 at police headquarters on East Main Street downtown.

Participants will be able meet with recruiters to learn more about the hiring process, benefits/salary and training requirements.

Thursday’s shooting came less than 24 hours after a woman was fatally shot on Glasson Drive off Mooreene Road around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday. Police identified her Friday as Shanell Nicole Alston, 30, of Durham but released no other details.

Anyone with information about that homicide is asked to call Investigator B. Garth at 919-560-4440, ext. 29313 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.

Anyone with information about the shooting on Avon Lake Drive is asked to call Investigator C. Bernock at 919-560-4440, ext. 29414 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.

CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 7:39 AM.