I jumped to the floor: NC Central student recalls when bullet flew into her room – CBS17.com

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) Kenneccia Woolard was sitting in her dorm room working on her school work at Benjamin Ruffin Hall at North Carolina Central University on Sept. 19.

I had my TV on and I was working on a paper that was due, Woolard said.

She said it was a typical Saturday night until she started to hear gunfire outside her dorm.

Turns out, there was shooting near Fayetteville Street and Lawson Street and a stray bullet flew into Woolards dorm room window.

At that moment, I had turned my head and I leaned to open the window and then pow! Woolard said. The bullet came through. Then there was glass in my eyes and Im jumping to the floor. When that hole was busted in the window, I could still hear bullets. They were still shooting, even after that bullet came through.

While she had cuts from the glass, thankfully she and her suitemates were not shot and no other students were injured.

Woolard said something needs to be done about the recent shootings.

We cant continue to live on campus like this, there are too many lives at stake, Woolard said.

In Durham, shootings are up 40 percent this year compared to last year.

So far 226 people have been shot this year and 27 of those individuals were shot in the month of September alone.

Officials with Durham police said a lot of the recent shootings are linked to feuds between groups or gangs.

In addition, police say they are seeing more shootings happening in passing on the roads and some innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire.

Deputy Chief Kevin Cates with the Durham Police Department said this can make it challenging for police to investigate.

Recent shootings have affected a larger swath of our community than normal, Cates said.

Cates said they have special teams focusing on the different areas where a lot of the recent shootings have occurred.

He said they are working on addressing the issue with the recent shootings every day, however, he said this is not something police can do alone.

This is not a police department problem, this a community problem, Cates said. Weve got to figure out a way to get these kids to find another alternative other than violence, especially gun violence.

Students and officials with NCCU will be voicing their concerns about the recent violence to Durham City Council during a work session on Thursday afternoon. They will be asking for more officers to patrol the area around campus and they are also asking that more cameras be installed near campus as well.

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I jumped to the floor: NC Central student recalls when bullet flew into her room - CBS17.com