Winston-Salem State University placed on alert over reports of shooting during homecoming weekend

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) in North Carolina was placed under heightened security after reports of a possible shooting during its homecoming party on Saturday. Several social media posts claimed that gunfire broke out on or near the university campus, with reports of multiple victims and a possible lockdown.

Unconfirmed reports of gunfire and multiple victims prompted safety concerns at the North Carolina HBCU (Unsplash)The reports emerged during WSSU’s homecoming celebrations, an annual event that attracts students, alumni and visitors to the historically Black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Students and relatives posted messages online saying some people had been instructed to remain inside their rooms while security officials assessed the situation. Social media accounts began circulating claims of a shooting involving multiple victims on campus.

Some posts alleged that at least two people had been shot and suggested a possible third victim. “1 GUN SHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD ON CAMPUS...2 PPL SHOT...POSSIBLE 3r SHOT...THEY ASKING FOR CURTAINS SO IM ASSUMING ITS A DEAD BODY...CHECK ON YA PPL....#WSSUhomecoming,” one Facebook user wrote.

One user on Facebook, a parent of a student at the university, wrote, “Family there was a shooting up at Winston Salem homing coming at a party.” She added, “Sweet is okay she wasn't at the party and they don't think students was doing the shooting but some people got shot.” Another user wrote, “RAM-ALERT!!

Winston-Salem State University Lockdown Following Reported Residence Hall Shooting Sparks Campus Safety Concerns!” The user added, “Thank God for always covering my child, she is on lock down in her room safe! Praying for any individuals that may be affected!

We have to do better too many incidents especially at what are supposed to positive Homecoming celebrations at HBCUS!” Another user who was around the area wrote, “We was in that homecoming traffic. Please [Police] presents was really heavy we saw about five high point police cars 2 to 3 surf cars from High Point and the Winston Salem presents.

We was in traffic for abt 30 mins or longer. So sumbdy got shot in da head doing homecoming.” Another post claimed the incident occurred during a homecoming event and that multiple fights followed the reported shooting. However, no official law enforcement agency had confirmed those claims at the time of publication.

Law enforcement agencies and university officials were expected to release more information as they investigated the reports. Emergency response teams typically secure the scene, identify potential suspects and determine whether there is any ongoing threat before releasing details to the public.

The university, located in Winston-Salem, is one of the nation’s historically Black universities and has an enrolment of thousands of students. It is known for its homecoming celebrations, which bring together current students, alumni and community members each year.

At the time of writing, students and families are expecting for confirmed information about the reported shooting and any possible injuries. Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk.

Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues.

Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats.

Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments.

She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More