Man Charged With Murder After Deadly Shooting at Winston-Salem State Homecoming
A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder after a shooting during homecoming weekend at Winston-Salem State University killed a 19-year-old and wounded three other people in two separate incidents on campus.
Police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, arrested Ziyaire Antonyo Spinks on Sunday, 8 November, and charged him with murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and felony possession of a firearm on educational property. He is being held without bond. The charges are allegations, and Spinks is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court.
Officers who were already on campus for homecoming events heard gunshots at about 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, 7 November. Near the 600 block of South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, they found 19-year-old Peyton Izaia Patterson with a gunshot wound. Emergency personnel tried to save him, but he died at the scene. A 22-year-old woman, Alyssa Janae Ellerbee, was also shot in the same incident. She was taken to hospital, treated and later released.
Police said the shooting followed an argument between two groups of people. They confirmed that Spinks was not a student at the university, and the university said Patterson was not a student either, adding that the clarification “does not lessen the tragedy or its impact on our university and the broader Winston-Salem community.”
A second shooting less than an hour later
While officers were still dealing with the first scene, a second round of gunfire broke out on campus at about 10:22 p.m. at the intersection of Victory Circle and Cromartie Street. Two more people were wounded: 21-year-old Najir Pearsall, who was critically hurt, and 20-year-old Makyiah Ward, a newcomer on the university’s women’s basketball team, who was listed in stable condition.
Police later stopped a vehicle connected to the second shooting, but no arrests had been made in that case by Sunday afternoon. Investigators said they had not yet determined whether the two shootings were connected, although the first was described by police as an isolated incident that grew out of the argument between the two groups.
An 18-year-old, Cequon Warren Brower, was also arrested in connection with the fighting that preceded the first shooting and charged with affray. Like Spinks, he is charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent.
Campus shut down for the weekend
Winston-Salem State University, a historically Black university, cancelled the remainder of its homecoming activities on Sunday and cancelled classes on Monday. A local church planned to lead a call for prayers in support of the community instead.
Chancellor Bonita J. Brown called the shootings “senseless violence.” In a statement, she assured students, faculty and parents that the campus was secure, that additional law enforcement would remain while the investigation continues, and that counselling was available for anyone who needed it.
“We also recognize the concern and anxiety these events have created among our students, parents, families and broader community,” Brown said. “We take our responsibility for campus safety seriously.”
Police appeal for the public’s help
Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn Jr. vowed at a news conference that officers would find everyone responsible for the violence, and asked the public not to draw conclusions while the investigation was still under way.
“It’s important that the blame of these tragic events go to the right people and that’s the folks who committed these acts,” Penn said, asking people not to point fingers while the investigation is ongoing.
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. echoed that message at the same news conference. “Right now, the community is in need of your prayers. The community is in need of us coming together,” he said.
NBC News reported that court records show Spinks has two previous court cases pending in North Carolina. Police have not said when Spinks is due to appear in court on the new charges.
The shootings are the latest reminder of how quickly celebratory weekends can turn violent. Across the United States, violent crime has fallen sharply over the past year, according to federal survey data, but campus shootings during large public events remain a recurring concern for universities, which must balance open celebrations with security for thousands of visitors.
For now, the investigation continues. Detectives are working to establish whether the two shootings are linked, and police are asking anyone with information about either incident to come forward.
