Two separate shootings on the campus of Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday night, November 7, during the university's homecoming weekend left one person dead and three people injured, Winston-Salem police said on Sunday, November 8. Police arrested a 20-year-old man, Ziyaire Spinks, in connection with one of the shootings and charged him with murder, while detectives are still investigating the second shooting and have not yet said whether the two incidents were connected.

Source: Associated Press via Public Radio East (WFDD)

Assistant Police Chief Jason Swaim of the Winston-Salem Police Department said officers responded after hearing gunshots at around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday. At the first scene, officers found a 19-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers attempted life-saving measures, but they were unsuccessful and the young man died. Officers also found a 22-year-old woman at the scene who appeared to have a gunshot wound; she was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and later released, according to the police account reported by WFDD, the public radio station for the Piedmont region.

Arrest: 20-year-old held without bond on a murder charge

On Sunday, police announced that Ziyaire Spinks, 20, was being held without bond on charges of murder and possession of a firearm on educational property. Swaim said the circumstances surrounding that shooting were still under investigation, but detectives had determined it was an isolated incident. The murder charge is an allegation: Spinks is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court, and no court date or plea had been announced in the reporting available on Sunday afternoon. Police have not released the name of the 19-year-old man who died, and they have not said whether he, the injured woman, or the other injured people were students at the university.

A second shooting, and the questions police cannot yet answer

Police said during an early-morning news conference on Sunday that two separate shootings occurred on campus on Saturday night. So far, officers have shared detailed information only about the first shooting. They have not shared details about the second shooting — where exactly on campus it happened, who was injured in it, or whether anyone has been arrested in connection with it. At the press conference, Swaim stressed how early the work is: “At this point, the investigation is still very early in its preliminary stages,” he said, adding that it was too early to tell whether the two shootings were connected. Police confirmed that an earlier campus lockdown has been lifted and that the campus is safe, with additional law enforcement remaining on campus while the investigation continues.

Homecoming weekend at a historically Black university, cut short

Winston-Salem State University is a historically Black university in Winston-Salem, in Forsyth County in North Carolina's Piedmont region, and homecoming is one of the biggest weekends of its year — a reunion built around alumni returning to campus. Saturday was homecoming game day: the WSSU Rams faced the Fayetteville State Broncos earlier in the day, hours before the gunfire. Instead of the closing celebrations, the weekend ended with sirens, a lockdown, and grief. Chancellor Bonita J. Brown issued a statement on Sunday morning calling the shootings “senseless violence” that has shaken the community, and the university cancelled all remaining homecoming activities, including a planned Sunday event. University officials said a local church had planned to lead a call for prayers in support of the community, and the school was offering counselling for anyone in need.

“We also recognize the concern and anxiety these events have created among our students, parents, families and broader community,” Chancellor Brown said. “We take our responsibility for campus safety seriously and remain committed to the well-being of everyone who is part of our university community.” She assured students, faculty and parents that the campus was secure and that additional law enforcement would remain while the investigation continues.

What happens next

The investigation now splits in two. In the first shooting, Spinks remains in custody without bond on the murder and firearm-on-educational-property charges, and his case will move through the Forsyth County courts, beginning with an initial court appearance; prosecutors will decide the formal charges as the police file is completed. In the second shooting, detectives are still working to establish what happened and whether it connects to the first. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Winston-Salem Police Department — its non-emergency number is 336-773-7700, according to police information carried in local reporting. For families with students at the university, the immediate official position is that there is no active threat, the lockdown is lifted, and extra officers will stay on campus while both investigations run.

Sources: Associated Press reporting on the two Winston-Salem State shootings, carried by Public Radio East / WFDD (88.5) — arrest of Ziyaire Spinks, 20; 19-year-old man killed, 22-year-old woman treated and released; Chancellor Bonita J. Brown statement; and AP wire reporting carried by Gray Television and other outlets — two separate shootings, one dead and three injured, lockdown lifted, Assistant Police Chief Jason Swaim press conference.