VIDEO: Motorcycle Clubs Deliver ‘Gifts of Kindness’ to Children Shot in Durham Drive-By

Wearing a black motorcycle jacket emblazoned with “Live Free Ride Hard,” Rodney Long rolled down Fidelity Drive today on a gold Kawasaki Ninja.

Dozens of motorcycles followed behind him, filling the street with the thunderous roar of engines as they approached their destination. They arrived with toys, clothes and cash for two children injured Oct. 23 in a drive-by shooting in Durham. Aunehstii Hagans, 1, and Anaryiion Hagans, 3, were grazed by stray bullets that penetrated their home on a Sunday afternoon as their mother prepared dinner. Three men have been charged in connection with the shooting that injured them.

“I saw it on the news and immediately started thinking, ‘what can I do?’ ” said Long, a computer network engineer and founding president of Evolution Motorcycle Club in Raleigh. “There are so many things we can do in our community. Sometimes, the smallest little act can turn into something bigger.”

Long used the phone and Facebook to mobilize motorcyclists from as far away as Charlotte for today’sAnaryiion Hagans, 3, left, and Aunehstii Hagans, 1, play with toys donated by 12 motorcycle clubs as part of a benefit led by Evolution Motorcycle Club in Raleigh. Photo by Leanora Minai. “Random Act of Kindness Ride.” 

“No child should feel unsafe in their home,” the club’s Facebook post said. “… Let’s come together as a community and bring gifts of kindness to these children.”

More than 50 motorcyclists from 12 clubs delivered presents to the children, their mother, Dominique Hagans, and grandmother, Judy Leach, at their home in Durham. Brought to tears, Mrs. Leach and Ms. Hagans thanked the crowd. “Not everybody’s bad,” Mrs. Leach said.

Davontay “P-Nut” Rushing, president of Kingz & Queenz Riderz, rode his red Honda 171 miles from Charlotte to participate in the ride. “I’m always for the kids,” he said. “I’m a rider. I don’t care where it’s at. I’m going.”

Gunshot Victim at Age 1

Aunehstii Hagans, 1, and brother, Anaryiion, 3, were grazed by bullets that entered their North Driver Street home. Photo by Leanora Minai.

In her North Driver Street home, Dominique Hagans stuffed a roasting chicken to go along with the biscuits, cabbage and macaroni and cheese for Sunday dinner.

“Before I could get to the cabbage, that’s when I heard the gunshots,” said Hagans, 22.

Hagans ran to check on her children and found them in the living room. Stray bullets, fired from a passing car, had grazed her 1-year-old daughter, Aunehstii, and 3-year-old son, Anaryiion. 

Aunehstii was on the floor.

“She was in a puddle of blood,” Hagans said. “I just started panicking and crying.”

The children were treated and released from Duke University Hospital on Oct. 24, a day after the 1 p.m. drive-by shooting in the 200 block of North Driver Street in Durham. A man outside also was injured in the shooting.

According to witness reports, the shots may have been fired from a blue, four-door vehicle with tinted windows.

One bullet penetrated the siding on the front of the home; another bullet went through the front door. Investigators with the Durham Police Department are asking for the public’s help in identifying the people responsible, and Durham CrimeStoppers is offering a reward for tips leading to an arrest.

“We are asking members of the community to call us with any information they might have about this incident,” said Deputy Chief S.M. Mihaich. “We take any case involving children very seriously, and our officers and investigators have been speaking with residents of this neighborhood about this case.”

Hagans said she does not know who fired the bullets but has this message for whoever did:

“I hope you feel like I feel. I hope you turn yourself in because you hurt somebody else’s kids. I hope you learn from your actions. I’m not mad with you. I just feel like you should have thought first before you did what you did. They’re babies. They didn’t deserve to be hurt the way you hurt them.”

Slideshow: Police, Volunteers Canvass for Tips

Anyone with information about the North Driver Street shooting is asked to call Durham Police Investigator Cristaldi at (919) 560-4281, ext. 29123 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

Film Outtake: Mother Recalls Day She Saw Son's Killer

Since launching this website on Sept. 25, I've reported and shared stories about unsolved homicides and a former crack addict who turned her life around to become an inspiration to many.

I've also begun the first of two final required classes at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. This next-to-last class is an independent study with an instructor who will guide me in pulling together the story for my short documentary film.

So far, I've amassed about 10 hours of footage that includes interviews with parents of murdered children, support groups, vigils and community responses to homicides in Durham.

Over the next several weeks, I'll work diligently to watch back and trim all of my raw footage down to about 90 minutes. I have some tough choices to make. The final cut will be a 10 to 12 minute film screened next year when I receive my certificate in video documentary arts from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke.

As I work on the film, I'll share short video excerpts here on the news blog of footage that may or may not make it in the final cut.   

In today's outtake, Mina Hampton recalls the day she crossed paths in a local fast food restaurant with the man who killed her son, Tommy. Her son was shot and killed in Durham on Feb. 19, 1994. Four men were arrested in the case; she said the shooter served about four years.

"I want him to do well … But I do not want to talk with him," said Mrs. Hampton of her son’s killer, "and I do not care to see him."

‘My Daughter Died in My Arms’

Demetriss China holds a T-shirt made for her daughter's funeral. Photo by Leanora Minai..

 (If the audio player above does not appear/work on your device, please click here to listen.)

As part of my documentary fieldwork, I’m meeting with mothers whose children have been fatally shot in Durham.

Yesterday, I visited Demetriss China, 28, as she folded laundry at home. Her daughter, Shakanah, was standing outside May 10 when someone opened fire from a passing green van. Shakanah, 13, was not the intended target but was killed. No arrests have been made in the shooting.

The day she died, Shakanah stood outside with her mother and siblings, ages 6 and 14 months. Others from the neighborhood joined them.

They played basketball. They talked, laughed.

And then, the green van rolled by a second time.

Listen to the accompanying audio excerpt (above) of my interview with Demetriss as she recounts the moments that forever changed her life, and took her daughter’s away.