Family, friends remember Durham teen killed in downtown drive-by shooting

Three days after he was killed in a drive-by shooting, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the life of a 15-year-old whose life was cut short by the city’s rising gun violence.

Anthony Adams was fatally shot Sunday morning. His family members, friends, classmates and teachers came together Wednesday night at an apartment complex on East Main Street, where he was shot.

Adams was the fifth 15-year-old child shot this year in Durham, according to police statistics.

As of Saturday, a total of 274 people had been shot in the city this year, 24 of them fatally. Forty-two of them were 17 years old or younger.

Durham’s mayor and police chief are set to address the city’s rising gun violence at a news conference at 11:30 a.m Thursday.

2nd oldest of 5 children

Seven candles stayed lit, despite a steady drizzle in the packed parking lot. Children clasped hundreds of balloons, shaped as blue and white stars. After a short prayer, everyone said, “We love you Anthony,” as they released the balloons into the air.

Adams’ mother held a teddy bear with signatures. She was not ready to speak Wednesday night.

Adams was the second oldest of five children. He loved to play basketball and attended Southern High School.

His 14-year-old sister, Chasity Adams, was in her room when she said she heard a lot of yelling. Then her mother hung up the phone and told her, “Anthony got shot.”

“I was just, you know, in a lot of disbelief,” Chasity Adams said. “I still think that he’s going to walk to the house and tell me he loves me.”

Adams and his siblings attended the same elementary and middle school, Maureen Joy Charter School. Administrators and teachers came out to show their support for Adams’ friends and family.

Mark Bailey, the school’s executive director, remembers Adams as “a fiercely loyal friend and brother” to his fellow peers and his siblings.

“He made connections to teachers of younger grades, older grades and the same thing for students,” Bailey said. “He’s just someone who connected easily.”

Bailey said the school has tried to tell students to be open about their emotions after the death of their former classmate.

“It’s OK to feel sad. It’s OK to feel loss, to feel regret, to feel anger, to feel like it’s unfair,” Bailey said. “We feel all those same things.

“The reason why this hurts so much is because we loved him so hard,” he said.

Adams’ cousin Tierra McNeil said Adams was caring. She will miss Thanksgiving dinners and how he appreciated her cooking.

“I have my days,” she said. “I’m trying to be strong for his mom.”

Durham shootings up this year

Shootings in Durham have sharply increased this year.

The number of people shot is up nearly 72% from the same time last year, when 159 people were shot.

Among the children killed by gunfire this year:

▪ Tyvien McClean, 12, died from his injuries July 20, five days after a bullet burst through a second-floor window during a birthday party on East Weaver Street. He was a sixth-grader at Lowe’s Grove Middle School

▪ Michael Harris, 15, was fatally shot Aug. 23 on Seven Oaks Road. The student at Carter Community Charter School wanted to be a chef, his mother told The News & Observer.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Family, friends remember Durham teen killed in downtown drive-by shooting."