Robert Antone Bam Baines, a 38-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on February 3, 2021, in Durham, North Carolina. The shooting happened about 5:50 p.m. in the 200-block of Cushman Street. His death was part of a double homicide; 40-year-old Corey Gooch was found dead from a gunshot wound shortly afterward in the 500-block of Hardee Street.

Authorities arrested 33-year-old Mario Blanding on February 18, 2021, in the 100-block of Apogee Drive and charged him with the murders of both Baines and Gooch. Investigators linked the two shootings and held Blanding in the Durham County Jail without bond on the murder charges. He also faced multiple robbery-related charges tied to a string of February 2021 crimes, including an attempted carjacking where a man was shot in the leg, armed store robberies, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, first-degree kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A remembrance was held on February 6, 2021, near Cushman Street and Plummer Place where Baines was killed; pastors and advocates urged an end to gun violence and asked anyone with information about recent shootings in Durham to come forward.

Did anyone in the community witness either shooting or have information about the robberies linked to these events?