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‘Victims are still with us.’ Durham ends 2022 remembering those killed by gun violence

Mary Helen Moore
·4 min read
19

A single white balloon was passed to Keshia Gray on Friday afternoon, a symbol of the 43 lives lost to gun violence in Durham this year.

“I won’t release it, because the fallen victims are still with us in our hearts and our minds,” Gray told The News & Observer. “It stands for peace and love. That’s what we’re about.”

Gray is the program manager of Bull City United, a team that’s been working to prevent gun violence in Durham since 2016.

The group lost one of its own this year: Reshaun Cates was gunned down on an Interstate 85 off-ramp in October. He was just a few days from his 45th birthday.

On Friday, the city held a ceremony at CCB Plaza in the center of downtown to mark the annual Day of Remembrance for Gun-Related Homicide Victims. The event, coordinated by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was held in a dozen other cities, including New York, Chicago and Charlotte.

Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neala makes the Bull City hand sign at the conclusion of a Day of Remembrance for Gun-Related Homicide Victims ceremony in Durham Friday, Dec. 30, 2022.
Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neala makes the Bull City hand sign at the conclusion of a Day of Remembrance for Gun-Related Homicide Victims ceremony in Durham Friday, Dec. 30, 2022.

Though overall gun violence in Durham is on a two-year decline from a record high in 2020, the number of fatal shootings is on the rise.

As of Dec. 10, the Durham Police Department had recorded 721 shooting incidents, with 233 people shot. Thirty-nine of them were killed. The data is the most recent available for the city limits.

“Each time one of our citizens are taken from us, the heart of our city — the very beating of it — is affected,” Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said.

How Durham is fighting gun violence

A relative held a poster board with a photograph of Cates softly smiling and wearing his Bull City United sweatshirt. The anti-violence initiative has been one of the county’s most public efforts to combat gun violence from a public health perspective. Violence interrupters like Cates attempt to de-escalate conflicts and reshape attitudes around gang life.

“We choose to be part of the solution,” Gray said. “We will beat gun violence.”

Addressing gun violence has been frequently discussed among the city’s leaders, including Mayor Elaine O’Neal and Police Chief Patrice Andrews, as they grapple with strategies to reduce the number of homicides. Meanwhile, they also struggle with staffing the police department, which affects response times to incidents.

Earlier this month, the city launched ShotSpotter, a yearlong pilot of a gunfire detection technology that leaders hope will get first responders to shooting scenes faster.

O’Neal hugged each member of the Bull City United team in attendance Friday.

“The call to action today is really simple,” O’Neal said. “Love conquers all.”

Durham City Council member DeDreana Freeman, left, gives a white balloon to Keshia Gray, a gun violence prevention advocate from Bull City United, during a Day of Remembrance for Gun-Related Homicide Victims ceremony in Durham Friday, Dec. 30, 2022.
Durham City Council member DeDreana Freeman, left, gives a white balloon to Keshia Gray, a gun violence prevention advocate from Bull City United, during a Day of Remembrance for Gun-Related Homicide Victims ceremony in Durham Friday, Dec. 30, 2022.

She recited grim statistics of an epidemic disproportionately affecting Black and Latin communities.

“Every year, nearly 40,000 Americans are killed with guns and 85,000 Americans are shot and wounded as a result of gun assaults, unintentional shootings, attempted suicides and shootings by law enforcement,” O’Neal said.

“As we prepare to transition into 2023, we stand and pray and hope that not one other person is lost in this manner.”

The several dozen gathered on the plaza spent a moment in silence after the 43 names were read, downtown buzzing around them on the unseasonably warm afternoon.

“For each of these families that we read the names, there is a place of silence in their family,” Middleton said. “And we want them to know that that silence is not just felt in their households, but it is felt in this city, our city.

“May their memories be a blessing.”

Victims of gun violence in Durham

Durham reports 43 people killed by guns in 2022. Here are their names:

  • Jalen Mills

  • Tony Smith Jr.

  • Charles Piquet

  • Tony Person

  • Aaron Bailey

  • Elijah Everett

  • Israel Njuguna

  • Aldamon Boykin

  • Janavious Tate

  • William Green

  • Hironori James

  • Emily Montes de Oca

  • Daniel Slack

  • Tylen Baldwin

  • Jose Cabrera

  • Karla Jaramillo Noyola

  • Raheem Clark

  • Bradley Clay

  • Jabari Williams

  • Kenneth Hawley

  • Jeremiah Dixon

  • Yazmine McDougald

  • Shyhiem McCaskill

  • Rodney Burnett

  • Derek Ortiz

  • Brian Davis

  • Derek Sterling

  • Wahid Downey

  • Marcus Ortega-Burch

  • Anthony Giles

  • Jivon Cherry

  • Guadalupe Ordoñez-Alejandro

  • Quaron Zaffa

  • Reshaun Cates

  • Karizma Mebane

  • Julie Lindsey

  • Michael Spears

  • Demario Metts

  • Reginald Parker

  • Tyler Young

  • Alexis Yandel Hernandez-Nuñez

  • Terrance Brown

  • Denis Allen Sosa-Gomez