NC rapper shot and killed, woman injured on Durham’s Hillsborough Road
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gunfire on Hillsborough Road killed driver Irease Jeffrey, wounded a woman.
- Durham police investigate Sunday night shooting; no suspect info released.
- Per police statistics as of Dec 27, 2025, 170 people had been shot in Durham.
The Durham Police Department is investigating a shooting on Hillsborough Road Sunday night that left a man dead and a woman seriously injured.
A 2024 Chevy Malibu was travelling west on the 3500 block of Hillsborough Road around 9 p.m. when a second vehicle approached on its right passenger side and someone inside began shooting at the Malibu, according to police.
The driver of the Malibu — Irease Jeffrey, 30, of Durham — was shot in the neck and lost control of the car, which crashed in a nearby parking lot. He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced deceased, police said.
A woman who was in the Malibu was shot in the head and taken to the hospital, where police said she was in critical but stable condition Friday
Police did not provide other information, including any suspect information or whether they think the people in the two cars knew each other or whether this may have been a road-rage incident.
Jeffrey, who went by Billy Resio, was a rapper with songs like “No Lie,” “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Labeled Me Top Shotta.” He published songs with the entertainment company Rich Nation Entertainment. Rich Nation CEO Michael Mitchell wrote one of many Facebook tributes to Jeffrey Monday, saying Jeffrey “poured his soul into every record he made.”
“I loved that kid for real,” Mitchell wrote. “He wasn’t just talent — he was pure heart, raw truth, hunger, and loyalty. He believed in the vision, and I believed in him.”
As of Dec. 27, the latest statistics available, there had been 170 people shot in Durham in 2025, including 28 of them fatally.
That was down from 218 people shot in 2024, when 33 people had been fatally shot by that date, police statistics show.
Anyone with any information about Sunday’s shooting can call Investigator D. Hall at 919-560-4440 ext. 29319 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200, or online at durhamcrimestoppers.org. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
This story was originally published January 5, 2026 at 8:25 AM with the headline "NC rapper shot and killed, woman injured on Durham’s Hillsborough Road."