Published: Jan 05, 2008 12:30 AM
Modified: Jan 05, 2008 06:40 AM

STANLEY B. CHAMBERS JR., Staff Writer

Young people are becoming homicide targets in Durham -- half of 2007's 30 killings were of people 25 or younger.

The problem isn't an easy one to solve. Illegal guns need to be removed from the streets and children need things to do, community activists say. People need to settle their disputes through other means, Mayor Bill Bell says.

Either way, solving youth violence takes time, which for 15 young victims ran out in 2007.

At least for two victims, it seemed bullets weren't meant for them. Someone was firing a gun as Tavisa Cartnail, 14, rode in a SUV on Driver Street on March 26. She was struck in the head. Another bullet struck Quincy Bowens, 15, as he protected his cousins from a drive-by shooter on June 25.

Some appeared to be the result of conflicts: Denita Smith, 25, 2007's first homicide, was shot on Jan. 4 by someone who allegedly stalked her fiance. Randolph James, 25, was beaten, then shot multiple times on Aug. 1...

With younger victims come younger suspects: Fourteen of last year's named homicide suspects were under 25. Some, like Michael Kelly, have criminal records that rival some adults. Kelly, 20, was already accused of being involved in three shootings when arrested for Cody Gurley's murder.

Durham has had an average of 30 homicides over the past 10 years. Last year's mark was a 58 percent increase from 2006, when Durham had 19. Arrests were made in all but 13 of 2007's homicides. One was ruled in self-defense. Two were shot and killed by Durham officers.

There were three homicides outside city limits.

Often after a homicide, Marcia Owen with the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham conducts a prayer vigil where the person was killed. Attendees hold candles, offer prayers for the victim and their families and, and friends talk about their loved one.

These vigils take on a different feeling when a young person is killed, she said.

"I feel that the adult community has failed them," Owen said. "They are truly innocent. They are children, and if we're making bad decisions, we should expect them to make bad decisions."

One problem is the illegal guns on Durham's streets, Owen said. Another is the lack of activities for young people, something Melvin Whitley has advocated in East Durham.

"Why have a Klu Klux Klan when we're killing each other," said Whitley, a community activist who attends funerals of young homicide victims.

The court system isn't harsh enough on offenders, he said. African-Americans have been taught to hate each other, which results in black-on-black crime, he said. All but four of the 2007 homicide victims were black. All but two homicide suspects are black...

Bell plans to address illegal guns in his upcoming State of the City address, just as he did in last year's speech. Then, he also stressed the importance of adult involvement in young people's lives, getting drugs off the streets and providing more jobs for youth.

Though there are answers, Bell said the solution isn't easy.

"We have to take responsibility as a community, families and friends of young people," he said. "They have to step up to the plate and let them know there's a different way to settle [disputes]."