A woman is dead and another is recovering from injuries after gunfire tore into their vehicle as they drove along Revere Road in Durham's Parkwood neighborhood Saturday afternoon. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while the second woman was taken to a local hospital with what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m., according to WRAL, which reported that shots were fired directly into the women's car as the two were driving through the residential corridor. The Durham Police Department confirmed that a woman died and another woman was hospitalized following the shooting on Revere Road, and said the investigation remains ongoing.
Neighbor Barbara Sanders told the outlet she heard gunshots and then saw a man with a gun running from near the vehicle where the two women were in distress. Sanders said she immediately called 911. “I've lived here over 50 years, and I've never seen anything like that,” she said, describing the shock of witnessing violence in a neighborhood she's called home for decades.
A Neighborhood Built for Quiet Living
Parkwood was established in 1960 as one of South Durham's first planned residential subdivisions, according to the Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County, and it formed one of the state's earliest homeowners associations to house workers at the then-new Research Triangle Park. Revere Road serves as one of the neighborhood's main residential thoroughfares, according to the Museum of Durham History, and is home to civic anchors including Parkwood Elementary School.
The street isn't entirely unfamiliar with violent crime. In July 2024, Durham Police filed armed robbery, firearm possession, and kidnapping charges against a suspect following an armed robbery at the CVS Pharmacy located at 2010 Revere Road, per Spectacular Magazine. Police at the time sought public tips to locate that suspect.
Police Call It Isolated, But Investigation Continues
Durham Police said the incident was isolated and that there was no danger to the public, per the WRAL report. Officers remained on scene for about five hours as the investigation unfolded, and the department has not announced a motive or identified a suspect. Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact Investigator D. Hall at 919-560-4440 ext. 29319 or to reach out to Durham CrimeStoppers.
Durham CrimeStoppers pays anonymous cash rewards ranging from $100 to $2,000 for tips that lead to a felony arrest, according to the City of Durham, and tipsters are identified only by an assigned code number. The organization can be reached at 919-683-1200 or through www.durhamcrimestoppers.org.
Part of a Wider Spike in Durham Violence
The shooting adds to a troubling citywide pattern. Durham recorded 13 homicides during the first five months of 2026, a 44% increase compared to the nine homicides recorded over the same period in 2025, according to Durham Police Department statistics reported by WRAL. First-quarter figures released by the City of Durham showed a 4.6% increase in Part 1 violent crime compared to the same period last year, with 365 violent crimes recorded citywide.
That uptick stands in contrast to 2025, when Durham saw a 16.9% overall reduction in Part I violent crime compared to 2024, driven largely by a drop in aggravated assaults even as annual homicide totals stayed flat, per city data. Meanwhile, the Durham County Sheriff's Office reported in August 2026 that overall index crime across its county jurisdiction — which includes unincorporated areas around Research Triangle Park — actually decreased by 8.7% during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period the year before.
Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-34.1, discharging a firearm into an occupied operating vehicle is a Class D felony, according to the Powers Law Firm PA, and the charge escalates to a Class C felony if the act causes serious bodily injury. Whether the shooter fired from another vehicle or on foot, and what may have motivated the attack, remain open questions in the ongoing Durham Police investigation.
