A new crime report in Durham showed while property crime is down, some violent crime is on the rise.
The city's new chief of police, Stephanie Mardis, presented her first crime report for the department on Thursday.
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According to city data from the first half of the year, some violent crimes-like aggravated assaults and rape- are up. Numbers show rape is up by nearly 25% from this time last year. Aggravated assaults are up nearly 12% from the first half of 2025.
Other violent crime, including homicides and robberies, are down. Data shows from January through June of 2025 there were 19 homicides. This year, the city recorded 18 homicides by the end of June.
The presentation of data comes after a deadly shooting on Tuesday.
According to the Durham Police Department, officers were called to reports of a shooting around 6:48 p.m. in the 900 block of Eva Street. When they arrived, they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds.
Shooting data shows the number of incidents are down January through June by about 3%. However, the number of persons shot is up 14%. Fatal shooting incidents decreased, with 1 less incident in the first half of 2026 than 2025, but the number of non-fatal incidents has gone up by 13.
While not reflected in this data, Durham police are investigating a recent shooting involving two juveniles.
On Tuesday evening, Durham officers were called to a shooting just before 7 p.m. in the 700 block of North Duke Street. During the call, police learned that two juveniles were playing with a gun when it accidentally went off.
The Durham Police Department is expected to expand on the crime data throughout a Durham City Council work session meeting Thursday.
WRAL will speak to Chief Mardis and provide updates throughout the afternoon.
