Durham police investigating reported shootout at American Tobacco Campus
Durham police are investigating a reported shootout at downtown’s American Tobacco Campus on Thursday morning.
Officers responded just before 10 a.m. to reported gunshots in the 600 block of Jackie Robinson Drive near a parking deck, according to a Durham Police department news release.
ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner, said the incident happened outside the parking deck at the corner of Jackie Robinson Drive and Julian Carr Street, near the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Witnesses reported two people were shooting at each other near the parking deck, according to the release.
Officers found shell casings and one unoccupied vehicle had been struck.
No injuries had been reported as of noon.
Shortly before 11 a.m., officers responded to a report of an active shooter in the area but found no evidence of one. Investigators learned the American Tobacco Campus had emailed staff and tenants about the shooting, prompting a 911 call.
Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School self-evacuated when officers arrived. They later returned to the building.
Mayor references shooting during council meeting
This was the second shooting at or near the American Tobacco Campus in the past week.
On April 11, police responded to gunfire reported in the 300 block of West. Pettigrew Street. A short time later, a man who had been shot arrived at the nearby bus terminal on foot. He was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were believed to be non-life threatening.
On Thursday, Mayor Leo Williams said during a City Council meeting that he felt emotional seeing schoolchildren playing soccer where people were shooting 45 minutes earlier.
“I really don’t care if you want to ignore it like it’s not happening,” he said. “Because it is, and it’s going to soon be in your backyard.”
“The summer months are coming, where typically this type of behavior increases,” he said.
Williams was recently on the losing end of a 4-2 vote to discontinue ShotSpotter, a gunshot surveillance program that alerts police to the sound of possible gunfire. A review found the program got police to crime scenes more quickly and make more arrests but did not reduce gun violence in the target area. Critics have been concerned the program could lead to overpolicing.
Thursday’s shooting incident remains under investigation. Police ask anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200 or online at www.durhamcrimestoppers.org. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
Mary Helen Moore contributed to this story.
