A drive-by shooting occurred off of East Campus Wednesday morning, hitting one house and at least four parked vehicles.
The shooting took place on the corner of LaMonde Avenue and Watts Street at around 7 a.m. The suspect was reported fleeing the scene in a yellow Nissan Xterra. The house affected by the shooting is owned by Duke undergraduates, as is one of the vehicles. No injuries were reported.
Senior Jaakov Schulman, one of the house’s residents, noted that the event took him by surprise but has thus far not changed his view of off-campus security.
“I did not expect this to happen,” Schulman said. “I wouldn’t make any decisions based on this, but it’s definitely something to think about.”
There were six students in the house at the time the gunshots were fired, Schulman said. Although Schulman assumed the shots were merely thunder, another roommate, whose room narrowly missed bullet penetration, was awoken immediately.
Schulman said that police arrived directly at the scene. Although he did not speak directly to any Duke officers, he noted that both Duke and Durham police departments were represented. He added that the students’ neighbors placed the 911 call.
“By the time we figured out what was going on, the cops were already here,” Schulman said.
Despite the shooting’s proximity to East Campus, students were not notified of the event through any official mode of communication aside from word of mouth. Schulman said he was surprised a Duke Alert had not been sent out.
“[So] robberies off campus get reported, but if there are bullets being shot, that’s not reported,” Schulman said.
But he noted that news of the event could lead to public anxiety, though no one was harmed.
“Maybe the situation was so far over that they didn’t need to freak people out,” Schulman said. “Sometimes freaking people out is worse than whatever actually happened.”
Ultimately, Schulman said that his housemates were lucky the situation did not escalate farther.
“Had we been outside on our front porch, had those bullets penetrated that wall, had any number of things, it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
Durham police are currently conducting an investigation. Tips can be sent to Crimestoppers, the city’s hotline for information on unsolved crimes.
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