One dead, one arrested after shooting at university homecoming celebration

A 19-year-old man was killed and a 22-year-old woman injured in a shooting on Saturday night during homecoming celebrations at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Police on Sunday arrested 20-year-old Ziyaire Spinks in connection with the incident.

Officers assigned to the campus for the festivities heard gunfire at about 9.45 pm and went immediately to the scene, where they found the young man shot. They administered first aid, but he died at the scene. The woman, who was found with a gunshot wound, was treated in hospital and later discharged.

Police said an argument between two groups had led to the shooting, and confirmed that the arrested man is not a student at the university. He is being held without bail on charges of murder, assault with a weapon and possessing a weapon on an educational campus.

Within an hour, a second shooting took place on the same campus, in which two people were injured. Police said they were investigating whether the two incidents were connected and that no one had been arrested so far over the second shooting.

The university administration cancelled the remaining homecoming events, and a local church held a prayer service for the community instead. Chancellor Bonita Brown expressed sorrow over the "senseless violence", said the campus was safe, and said counselling services would be provided to students who needed them.