WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A planned fight among young people escalated into a mass shooting at a North Carolina park Monday morning that left two teenage boys dead and five other people injured, authorities said.
Winston-Salem police Capt. Kevin Burns said a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old died at the scene after being shot around 10 a.m. at Leinbach Park, near a middle school. Five others between the ages of 14 and 19 were shot and suffered injuries ranging from critical to minor, Burns said at a news conference. Four of those victims are female, officials said.
Officials said multiple people fired guns during the shooting. Winston-Salem police Chief William Penn said no one was in custody but authorities believe some of those injured may have also been involved in the shooting.
“I feel like everyone else. I’m frustrated, I’m angry, I’m sad. This didn’t have to happen,” Penn said.
Penn said he couldn’t immediately answer whether the teens who died were the ones scheduled to fight. The police chief also said “no” when asked if it was known what the fight was about.
Officials said schools near the park were safe.
The shooting happened in a park in a suburban and residential area northwest of downtown Winston-Salem, a city of about 250,000 known for decades as the home of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Associated Press writers Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, contributed to this report.
Law enforcement officers stand near the scene of a shooting at Leinbach Park on Monday, April 20, 2026, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)
A police mobile command vehicle leaves the the scene of a shooting at Leinbach Park on Monday, April 20, 2026, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)
