GREENSBORO, N.C. — Sunday morning, 3 shootings in Greensboro within a 12 hour span killed 1 person and injured 2 others.
A shooting just after midnight Sunday on West Gate City Boulevard resulted in the death of a 30-year-old man, and another victim was hospitalized. Just 15 minutes later, police responded to E. Washington Street, finding someone injured by gunshots.
Then Sunday morning around 10:45 a.m., officers responded to a shooting on W. Wendover near Big Tree Way, finding shell casings but thankfully no injuries.
The gun violence in Greensboro has shocked and saddened advocates, including Ingram Bell, who survived a gunshot to the head and is now a program manager for the Cure Violence initiative in Greensboro.
"I am sad, I am angry, I am furious, because I feel like there are other ways to communicate and to handle differences," Bell said in reaction to the 3 shootings.
"It's always a double edge sword. No matter who gets shot, the other family also loses the person that was the violence influencer. Somebody goes to jail and somebody is dying, so there are two families crying," Bell said.
There have been 2 homicides, both the result of gun violence, in Greensboro so far in 2021, GPD confirmed to WFMY on Sunday.
2020 was a year of record-high homicides in Greensboro, with 61 deaths.
Greensboro Police Chief Brian James spoke with WFMY News 2 at the beginning of 2021 about the record number of deaths. Chief James said then that he believes the department did everything they could to stop the violence, but he might have chosen to direct more resources to tactical units. He added the department plans to put more resources in East Greensboro in 2021 where he said the majority of violent crime occurs.