Duane Derek Davis, a 24-year-old male, was tragically killed on April 10, 2015, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Davis, who was stationed at Fort Bragg, was in his home on Coronada Parkway when shots were fired into the residence. He was critically injured and later pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Davis had been visiting family and was living with his brother in the rented home for about two months.
Neighbors reported frequent police presence at the home and expressed concerns about the ongoing confrontations in the area.
Davis and his brother, Kyle, were involved in a verbal altercation with a group of people in the parking lot of the Pearl Necklace in the early morning of April 10. Gunshots were fired, and the brothers left the scene. Three hours later, shots were fired into Davis' home, resulting in his fatal injury. Despite the amount of time he spent overseas, Davis was killed at home, a fact that his family found hard to believe. Davis, who grew up in Fayetteville, had served with the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade as a Patriot missile launcher operator/maintainer with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. He had two deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and tours to the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Kuwait.
Davis' family and friends remember him as a kind and good man who loved his family and was known for his pranks and contagious laugh. He was a husband to Jasmine Davis and a father to two daughters, Kai and Faith, who live in Texas with their mother. Davis had planned to attend the University of Texas for a degree in engineering after leaving the military. His family and friends were still surprised by his pranks even after his death, as they discovered he had listed American Indian/Alaskan for ethnicity on his enrollment papers, despite never having been to Alaska.
The Fayetteville police have yet to make an arrest in connection with Davis' death. They have asked anyone with information to contact Detective M. Ballard or Crimestoppers. The investigation is ongoing, and the police are still seeking leads to bring justice for Davis and his family.
