A planned fight between two “young men” escalated into a shooting at a park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, killing two teenagers and injuring several others, most of them minors, police confirmed at a news conference Monday.
The Winston-Salem Police Department said the incident at Leinbach Park began around 9:52 a.m. when officers responded to a fight in progress. “While officers were en route, additional information was received indicating shots fired and multiple people shot,” Winston-Salem Police Chief Kevin Burns said Monday, adding that when officers arrived, they saw multiple people fleeing the area.
The two people who died from gunshot wounds, ages 16 and 17, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. One was found in the park parking lot and the other was found further inside the park. It is unclear from the investigation whether a fight occurred between the two deceased teenagers or what the purpose of the fight was.
Five other people were slightly injured in the shooting, including a 14-year-old female, a 15-year-old female, a 17-year-old female, an 18-year-old male and a 19-year-old female.
“In compliance with North Carolina law, the names of the juvenile victims will not be released,” Burns said. “At this time, the names of the adult victims are being withheld pending further investigation into their involvement.”
Burns said detectives are working to determine each person’s role in the incident.
“Preliminary information suggests that some of the injured may have been involved in the shooting,” he said.
No one was in custody as of late Monday afternoon, police said.
Police said the incident occurred only in Leinbach Park and not at the school. A nearby school was detained without incident as a precaution, but police and school officials said there was no need to pick up the students.
Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call the non-emergency number 336-773-7700.
