Days after a 2-year-old boy was shot, Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews has questions.
“It’s an unbelievable moment,” Andrews said. “I go into this whole thought process of, who would do that, why could someone do that, how could they do that, who could be so reckless, so careless.”
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It's not the first time she's been asking why; 27 people under the age of 18 were shot in 2024.
Three have been shot in 2025.
With those questions comes anger.
"I want to scream,” Andrews said. “I don't understand as a mother how in our world today we have children that are committing the crimes they are committing."
It's not only young people who are victims of crime; more young people in Durham are being charged with serious crimes. On Wednesday, police filed juvenile petitions on a 14-year-old for first-degree murder after the shooting death of 15-year-old AJ Clendenning.
That 14-year-old faces additional charges after police say he shot at a state trooper.
In past interviews with WRAL, Andrews quotes the adage, “it takes a village” to raise a child.
She says she believes one reason the Durham community is seeing frequent violent crime at the hands of young people is a lost connection to humanity.
“That only happens when they don't have the solid foundation when they don't have the solid upbringing, when they don't have mentors in their life, when they just are offered absolutely nothing,” Andrews said. “There's this feeling of hopelessness when they don't have or they aren't able to understand the value of human life.”
Age aside, Andrews believes the community needs to face facts about who is committing violent crimes.
"I want to see them recognized as the violent people they are, regardless of their age,” Andrews said. “There are 14, 15, and 16-year-olds out there that are committed to a life of violence, and no matter how much you try to mentor them or how much you try to offer them diversion, they make the decision not to accept that."
WRAL News found child homicides from gunfire doubled from 2018 to 2022.
“I believe that this is something that's been a long time coming. There is a drain on our juvenile justice system. There is a drain on the ability for us to find clinicians that are willing and able to do the work in the courts and with the advocacy component to the court structure,” Andrews said. “We need so much more help than what is available out there."
The question for many is how to help.
Andrews says it's one step at a time.
“We can't solve it by wanting to save an entire group of kids,” she said. "You can make a tremendous impact by just saving one. If you can save one if you can bring one forward, if you can mentor one child. Do that from where you are, that speaks volumes."