Durham police name man killed in shooting near Old Five Points neighborhood
Police on Tuesday identified a man fatally shot near Durham’s Old Five Points neighborhood as 58-year-old Thomas Lee Edwards.
Officers responded after 6 p.m. Friday to a report of a man wounded in a shooting on the 800 block of Lee Street.
Durham Emergency Medical Services took Edwards to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. He was later pronounced dead.
As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, police had not announced any arrests or possible suspects.
Clearance rate: The Police Department cleared 80% of homicides in the third quarter of 2023, meaning more arrests were made when people were killed.
Police Chief Patrice Andrews will provide the homicide clearance rate for the fourth quarter of 2023 during a City Council work session Feb. 22.
Homicide increase: Friday’s killing was the city’s first homicide of 2024. There were 49 reported homicides in Durham in 2023, a 9.4% increase from 2022, according to police statistics..
That was one short of the city’s record 50 homicides in 2021, statistics show.
How to help: Police ask anyone with information about Friday’s killing to contact Investigator J. Eason at 919-560-4440 ext. 29122 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 January 16, 2024 at 12:35 PM.
