DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) โ Two teens and one adult have been charged in the murder of a father of two who was shot to death while driving a taxi in Durham Thursday, Durham police announced.
Durham resident Ameer Suliman, 46, a husband and a father of two, was shot to death near the La Quinta Inn on West Park Drive around 12:30 p.m. Thursday during an attempted robbery, police said.
Zyon McNeil, 17, and a 15-year-old male, both of Durham, have been charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. A third man, Trayvion Lyons, 21, of Durham, has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Officers were dispatched to an armed robbery call in the 1400 block of Whispering Oak Lane at approximately 12:30 p.m. Thursday after a 17-year-old male reported that he had been robbed of his phone, cash and headphones at gunpoint.
Officers were then dispatched to a call in reference to a gunshot wound at 1 p.m. at the La Quinta Inn. Suliman, who had been shot multiple times, came into the lobby of the hotel for help and then collapsed on the floor. He was transported to the hospital where he was then pronounced dead. He was a driver for Durhamโs Best Cabs.
Durham police K-9 officers and special operations investigators were able to locate the three suspects nearby. One suspect was found near the railroad tracks by the hotel and two others were found in a room at the Red Roof Inn. Investigators also questioned several others who were later released and not charged, police said.
Items belonging to the cab driver and the robbery victim from Whispering Oak Lane were recovered were recovered by investigators. A gun was also recovered.
Friends and coworkers talked glowingly of Suliman. Babiker Suliman said he was like an uncle to him.
โHeโs a great man, very kind, very wise, always helps people around,โ Babiker Suliman said.
People came together Thursday at a mosque on Fayetteville Street to support one another.
โWhen something like this happens, you see the Sudani community come, get together, get along together, work hard to comfort everybody,โ Babiker Suliman said.
The cab company said the driver picked up a couple of fares and was going to drop them off at the La Quinta when the suspect(s) tried to rob him.
Thatโs when he was shot, the company said.
Ameer Sulimon was originally from the Sudan and was planning on going home in two weeks for the first time in 20 years.
โAmeer was not even supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in Sudan by now, but he found out that his passport expired, so he had to stay and renew his passport. And he was waiting on that,โ Babiker Suliman said. โYou donโt want the people you love to go. And, Ameer left us today. I just donโt want anybody else to go through what Ameer went through.โ
McNeil was placed in Durham County Jail without bond and Lyons was placed in jail under a $500,000 bond. The 15-year-old was taken to the Durham County Youth Home. His name is not being released due to his age.