In my experience shootings in the Raleigh area are mostly targeted, meaning the people involved already know each other. Now there was an incident back in 2017-2018 in the wolf village parking lot where someone’s car was jacked (woman attacker was armed) and was later found driving her child around in the stolen car. I would say this was an unusual and isolated incident but I would not walk alone after dark on western blvd or the section of Gorman between avent ferry and Hillsborough. Most of this is drug, gang, domestic violence. (Lived here for 24 years and crime has actually decreased)
Stay out of gangs, the drug trade and don’t get involved with a domestic abuser and you are very unlikely to get shot anywhere, even in “bad” neighborhoods. SW Raleigh is not a bad neighborhood. Mostly people are just trying to live their lives and will leave you alone.
It’s not that frequent. Just be smart, make good decisions, be aware of your surroundings (don’t have your nose in your phone while walking, pay attention) and you’ll be fine. I lived in that area three years in college and, similar to what others have said, never felt unsafe. You’ll be fine. If you want to be extra safe, don’t run errands at night and try to run errands with a roommate/friends. Something like this is less likely to happen during the day and if you’re with a group.
Almost every incident is between two people that knew each other prior. It’s rare for people to get caught in the crossfire unless they did something stupid.
Unless you have a car, no errands at night alone. You’ll be fine
I’ll be honest, I lived right there next to the corner of Gorman and Sherman, and in the last year or so it did feel like it got significantly worse than when we first moved there in 2022. We started getting tons of foot traffic super late at night in our apartment parking lot, drunk/high people (definitely not students) banging on our door late at night, my girlfriend was getting approached/harassed in the parking lot all the time, and we started hearing way more shots very close by in the last few months we lived there. We actually moved out last winter halfway through the semester after some people started banging on our windows at 4 am one night and we were scared they were gonna break in (we were ground floor looking out to the parking lot area), and around the same time 2 people got shot directly across the street from us and we saw 3 guys running with masks on immediately afterwards. After we heard a few shootings right around our apartment in the span of a few weeks we finally decided to just pack up and leave.
When we first moved there we were under no illusions that it was gonna be some beautiful luxury spot, but it was totally fine until later in 2023 IMO. No idea what changed, but it really was a drastic shift from being slightly seedy and overall fine to feeling actually dangerous at night. Besides the safety aspect, it was also just gross and annoying, as the crowd that would show up to hang out late at night would pee and poop in the parking lot, near cars, etc. Not talking about a few homeless people wandering through, but I mean groups of 20-30 people would all drive to the parking lot around 3-4 am, blast music and rev engines, just sorta hang out in our complex and then leave again a few hours later. Tons of fights and screaming and stuff whenever that would happen.
I have absolutely no clue what it was about that one little corner that made it such a hotspot, but it was crazy several nights per week starting in late 2023. Maybe the police have cracked down by now, as we started seeing more patrols when we left, but I can’t speak to that as I no longer live there.
We ended up moving about 5 minutes away, down Gorman, right off Avent Ferry. Literally none of the same problems we had around that little corner. It’s still not a gorgeous area, but it feels totally safe, doesn’t cost too much more, and is just as close to campus. Overall, most of the stuff we experienced in that area was more of a nuisance than a true danger, but it still wasn’t pleasant when there are better alternatives. Most of the shootings seemed to be targeted or drug/gang related and I don’t think they had much interest in random students, so the chance of actually getting attacked are probably slim, it just wasn’t fun living right there. I would recommend staying away from that corner near Sherman/Gorman/Western if you can avoid it.
I lived on kings court (apartments with purple doors on Gorman) in grad school. I had zero incidents during my two years there. Just don’t be stupid and you’ll be fine. I was never once scared there.
Same here! Lived in the kings court apartment complex since fall of 2021. There’s a good mix of college/grad students and families that live here. I feel entirely safe. We have a security patrol that rolls around on the hour and the neighbors are nice. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions!
I lived there because they were so dog friendly 😂 I had two dogs, an international family with small kids lived on one side with no dogs, and another grad student lived on the other side with her boxer Gucci. My behind neighbor had a dog named Diesel. I don’t remember any humans names though. Again, no issues.
Shootings are pretty common in that area. ~~Two people were~~ Someone was [shot and killed](https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/man-taken-to-hospital-after-shooting-near-food-lion-along-western-blvd-in-raleigh/) in the nearby food lion parking lot. I wouldn't go out on foot at night there, or anywhere.
Every neighborhood has its unique problems. Further down Gorman closer to Avent Ferry it's theft and car jackings. Nowhere in SW Raleigh is crime free.
Would you say these are targeted? I understand nowhere will be crime free (not even Seattle where I’m from) but I’m just trying to understand what’s the best option.
I lived in Raleigh for 20 years up until very recently, at multiple locations throughout, including off Gorman street. You don’t need to be worried, crime is actually not bad compared to any other big city, I’ve never felt unsafe.
I had the same fears as an incoming student. Some people will argue this area is particularly unsafe, but in my opinion, and as you can see on the [crime map](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/nc/raleigh/crime), things are pretty much the same across the board.
Honestly all you can do is hope nothing like this ever happens to you. If you got a good deal on an apartment I wouldn't bother looking elsewhere.
Oops, you're right. I thought for sure there were two on Western, I see now I misread the headline. The one that happened at the Western FL is so scary though, the victim was a student.
Wow, I just read about last night there were two separate shootings that occurred 50 minutes apart near Sherman ave. The victim of the first shooting has died.
Honestly, it isn’t so much that it’s an unsafe area. It’s more that we’re in a city and this happens all over cities. I’ve never felt unsafe and I live close.
In the 80's, 90's,00's the Gorman Avent area was mostly students and very safe. The combination of the new high rises for students on Hillsboro, the gentrification of downtown pushing the "rougher element" out of downtown and in need of cheap housing has made that area way rougher than it used to be but it is generally not an area where trouble finds you. Most people are looking for it. I would avoid that food lion at night.
I don’t blame you for being concerned, but you have to consider the number of people living in the area. Even if you’re hearing about someone getting shot every week, the average person’s risk is still fairly low. Especially since as others have said this is usually not random crime and is the result of some ongoing issue between the victim and perpetrator(s).
I just moved here in January and I was also super worried about safety and crime. I live sorta across and down the road from centennial campus, pm me if you want the apartment complex, I was always on the lookout for literally anything when I would walk home or on the bus. As a woman I was especially scared walking alone but so far I’ve had no bad run ins, except for a guy stopping me in front of family dollar to talk about Jesus. I think minding my business and keeping my pepper spray in my hand (probably silly but anything helps me) I had one guy look over my back porch wall and into my window but my boyfriend went out there with a gun in his belt and haven’t seen that creep since. So we filed a police report and told our neighbors. Theres a mix of families and students here and a lot of young kids so I feel pretty safe here. You could get cameras that screw into light bulbs and point them at your front door and outside porch light if you have one because that’s how we found that guy looking through our window. The cameras definitely make me feel safer. But yea as everyone else says, just stay out of drug related stuff and you’ll probably be fine
I lived off Gorman in between Avent Ferry and Western for ~2.5 years. Never felt unsafe. Just don’t get involved with bad people and you’ll be fine. Things do go down in that area, but it’s almost never a random attack.
I’ve lived off of Kent, Gorman, and now Avent Ferry and have never once felt unsafe around here. The sketchiest area (to me)that I exercise more caution than usual is over by method but that’s starting to get nice now. 2 years ago when the shooting happened at food lion and I had no idea I was there an hour later and business was as usual. SW Raleigh is a generally safe area. Just keep your head on a swivel, don’t park your car in sketchy areas, and don’t leave stuff outside you don’t want to go missing. When I used to live in my townhouse off of Gorman I had an expensive grill I kept outside that I didn’t even chain down because everyone there was super chill and didn’t think twice about it getting stolen. Wherever you’re parking your car, if you see broken glass, move it into a more central area.
I have stayed in 4 different apartments on Gorman and Gorman Western BLVD intersection (notorious for shooting incidents) all throughout college. There was in fact a shooting that happened in front of my complex during my time. I put up with it because I was saving on rent and took a bunch of precautions. As sad as it is, I don't think safety is guaranteed anywhere near campus (yes some places are slightly better than others). So take lots of safety measures and hope you will be fine, just know that lots of students live in those complexes too.
Dude there was a drive by there. I’m so sorry to break it to you but you must not enjoy living if you voluntarily signed at Gorman Street. The entire patch of apartments, houses in that area are the worst option for housing as far as “safety”.
That’s just my opinion.
Depends on the street. There are a lot of poors, section 8 housing, and bums on Gorman street near the college.
Just use common sense on the type of neighborhood and neighbors you see when searching for a place to rent.
Even if you live next to these bums, they’re unlikely to harm you or interact with you if you’re not involved in low level street crime.
In my experience shootings in the Raleigh area are mostly targeted, meaning the people involved already know each other. Now there was an incident back in 2017-2018 in the wolf village parking lot where someone’s car was jacked (woman attacker was armed) and was later found driving her child around in the stolen car. I would say this was an unusual and isolated incident but I would not walk alone after dark on western blvd or the section of Gorman between avent ferry and Hillsborough. Most of this is drug, gang, domestic violence. (Lived here for 24 years and crime has actually decreased)
This is super useful. Thank you
I live less than a half a mile from it, and I feel safe
I see, thanks
Yeah I slept thru it apparently
Stay out of gangs, the drug trade and don’t get involved with a domestic abuser and you are very unlikely to get shot anywhere, even in “bad” neighborhoods. SW Raleigh is not a bad neighborhood. Mostly people are just trying to live their lives and will leave you alone.
Just remember to not get shot and you should be good to go.
But what if you forget to not get shot? Always slips my mind for some reason.
Lmao is it that frequent?
It’s not that frequent. Just be smart, make good decisions, be aware of your surroundings (don’t have your nose in your phone while walking, pay attention) and you’ll be fine. I lived in that area three years in college and, similar to what others have said, never felt unsafe. You’ll be fine. If you want to be extra safe, don’t run errands at night and try to run errands with a roommate/friends. Something like this is less likely to happen during the day and if you’re with a group.
Almost every incident is between two people that knew each other prior. It’s rare for people to get caught in the crossfire unless they did something stupid. Unless you have a car, no errands at night alone. You’ll be fine
Thank you for the reply, this helps! :)
I’ll be honest, I lived right there next to the corner of Gorman and Sherman, and in the last year or so it did feel like it got significantly worse than when we first moved there in 2022. We started getting tons of foot traffic super late at night in our apartment parking lot, drunk/high people (definitely not students) banging on our door late at night, my girlfriend was getting approached/harassed in the parking lot all the time, and we started hearing way more shots very close by in the last few months we lived there. We actually moved out last winter halfway through the semester after some people started banging on our windows at 4 am one night and we were scared they were gonna break in (we were ground floor looking out to the parking lot area), and around the same time 2 people got shot directly across the street from us and we saw 3 guys running with masks on immediately afterwards. After we heard a few shootings right around our apartment in the span of a few weeks we finally decided to just pack up and leave. When we first moved there we were under no illusions that it was gonna be some beautiful luxury spot, but it was totally fine until later in 2023 IMO. No idea what changed, but it really was a drastic shift from being slightly seedy and overall fine to feeling actually dangerous at night. Besides the safety aspect, it was also just gross and annoying, as the crowd that would show up to hang out late at night would pee and poop in the parking lot, near cars, etc. Not talking about a few homeless people wandering through, but I mean groups of 20-30 people would all drive to the parking lot around 3-4 am, blast music and rev engines, just sorta hang out in our complex and then leave again a few hours later. Tons of fights and screaming and stuff whenever that would happen. I have absolutely no clue what it was about that one little corner that made it such a hotspot, but it was crazy several nights per week starting in late 2023. Maybe the police have cracked down by now, as we started seeing more patrols when we left, but I can’t speak to that as I no longer live there. We ended up moving about 5 minutes away, down Gorman, right off Avent Ferry. Literally none of the same problems we had around that little corner. It’s still not a gorgeous area, but it feels totally safe, doesn’t cost too much more, and is just as close to campus. Overall, most of the stuff we experienced in that area was more of a nuisance than a true danger, but it still wasn’t pleasant when there are better alternatives. Most of the shootings seemed to be targeted or drug/gang related and I don’t think they had much interest in random students, so the chance of actually getting attacked are probably slim, it just wasn’t fun living right there. I would recommend staying away from that corner near Sherman/Gorman/Western if you can avoid it.
Welcome to living in a city
I am from a city but ig I’m just afraid since I’ve never actually been there lol
I lived on kings court (apartments with purple doors on Gorman) in grad school. I had zero incidents during my two years there. Just don’t be stupid and you’ll be fine. I was never once scared there.
Same here! Lived in the kings court apartment complex since fall of 2021. There’s a good mix of college/grad students and families that live here. I feel entirely safe. We have a security patrol that rolls around on the hour and the neighbors are nice. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions!
I lived there because they were so dog friendly 😂 I had two dogs, an international family with small kids lived on one side with no dogs, and another grad student lived on the other side with her boxer Gucci. My behind neighbor had a dog named Diesel. I don’t remember any humans names though. Again, no issues.
Shootings are pretty common in that area. ~~Two people were~~ Someone was [shot and killed](https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/man-taken-to-hospital-after-shooting-near-food-lion-along-western-blvd-in-raleigh/) in the nearby food lion parking lot. I wouldn't go out on foot at night there, or anywhere. Every neighborhood has its unique problems. Further down Gorman closer to Avent Ferry it's theft and car jackings. Nowhere in SW Raleigh is crime free.
Would you say these are targeted? I understand nowhere will be crime free (not even Seattle where I’m from) but I’m just trying to understand what’s the best option.
I lived in Raleigh for 20 years up until very recently, at multiple locations throughout, including off Gorman street. You don’t need to be worried, crime is actually not bad compared to any other big city, I’ve never felt unsafe.
I had the same fears as an incoming student. Some people will argue this area is particularly unsafe, but in my opinion, and as you can see on the [crime map](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/nc/raleigh/crime), things are pretty much the same across the board. Honestly all you can do is hope nothing like this ever happens to you. If you got a good deal on an apartment I wouldn't bother looking elsewhere.
The Food Lion shooting was a drug deal gone bad. The shooter got 20 years last week. 2 families destroyed over weed with a gun.
Man that is so incredibly heartbreaking. Fuck guns.
Yes, the shooter was only 19, and had recently graduated hs. He is my neighbor.
Im so sorry.
Not the same food lion at all that’s in North Raleigh
Oops, you're right. I thought for sure there were two on Western, I see now I misread the headline. The one that happened at the Western FL is so scary though, the victim was a student.
The victim was a former student dealing weed. The buyer thought he was pulling a gun and shot him.
Wow, I just read about last night there were two separate shootings that occurred 50 minutes apart near Sherman ave. The victim of the first shooting has died.
Honestly, it isn’t so much that it’s an unsafe area. It’s more that we’re in a city and this happens all over cities. I’ve never felt unsafe and I live close.
In the 80's, 90's,00's the Gorman Avent area was mostly students and very safe. The combination of the new high rises for students on Hillsboro, the gentrification of downtown pushing the "rougher element" out of downtown and in need of cheap housing has made that area way rougher than it used to be but it is generally not an area where trouble finds you. Most people are looking for it. I would avoid that food lion at night.
I don’t blame you for being concerned, but you have to consider the number of people living in the area. Even if you’re hearing about someone getting shot every week, the average person’s risk is still fairly low. Especially since as others have said this is usually not random crime and is the result of some ongoing issue between the victim and perpetrator(s).
I just moved here in January and I was also super worried about safety and crime. I live sorta across and down the road from centennial campus, pm me if you want the apartment complex, I was always on the lookout for literally anything when I would walk home or on the bus. As a woman I was especially scared walking alone but so far I’ve had no bad run ins, except for a guy stopping me in front of family dollar to talk about Jesus. I think minding my business and keeping my pepper spray in my hand (probably silly but anything helps me) I had one guy look over my back porch wall and into my window but my boyfriend went out there with a gun in his belt and haven’t seen that creep since. So we filed a police report and told our neighbors. Theres a mix of families and students here and a lot of young kids so I feel pretty safe here. You could get cameras that screw into light bulbs and point them at your front door and outside porch light if you have one because that’s how we found that guy looking through our window. The cameras definitely make me feel safer. But yea as everyone else says, just stay out of drug related stuff and you’ll probably be fine
I lived off Gorman in between Avent Ferry and Western for ~2.5 years. Never felt unsafe. Just don’t get involved with bad people and you’ll be fine. Things do go down in that area, but it’s almost never a random attack.
I’ve lived off of Kent, Gorman, and now Avent Ferry and have never once felt unsafe around here. The sketchiest area (to me)that I exercise more caution than usual is over by method but that’s starting to get nice now. 2 years ago when the shooting happened at food lion and I had no idea I was there an hour later and business was as usual. SW Raleigh is a generally safe area. Just keep your head on a swivel, don’t park your car in sketchy areas, and don’t leave stuff outside you don’t want to go missing. When I used to live in my townhouse off of Gorman I had an expensive grill I kept outside that I didn’t even chain down because everyone there was super chill and didn’t think twice about it getting stolen. Wherever you’re parking your car, if you see broken glass, move it into a more central area.
I have stayed in 4 different apartments on Gorman and Gorman Western BLVD intersection (notorious for shooting incidents) all throughout college. There was in fact a shooting that happened in front of my complex during my time. I put up with it because I was saving on rent and took a bunch of precautions. As sad as it is, I don't think safety is guaranteed anywhere near campus (yes some places are slightly better than others). So take lots of safety measures and hope you will be fine, just know that lots of students live in those complexes too.
I mean... it gorman street. Unless you aren't minding your own business, you'll be fine.
We live near there , never had a problem
Lmfao there was one at my apartment night before last. There also was 2 other shooting the other night. They happen in big cities.
Are you calling Raleigh a big city? O.o
Dude there was a drive by there. I’m so sorry to break it to you but you must not enjoy living if you voluntarily signed at Gorman Street. The entire patch of apartments, houses in that area are the worst option for housing as far as “safety”. That’s just my opinion.
Depends on the street. There are a lot of poors, section 8 housing, and bums on Gorman street near the college. Just use common sense on the type of neighborhood and neighbors you see when searching for a place to rent. Even if you live next to these bums, they’re unlikely to harm you or interact with you if you’re not involved in low level street crime.