Police said gunfire broke out after a planned fight among juveniles escalated at Leinbach Park.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Two teenagers were killed and five others were wounded after a planned fight at a city park turned into a burst of gunfire Monday morning, sending officers, families and school officials scrambling as investigators worked to identify everyone involved.
Authorities said the shooting happened at Leinbach Park shortly before 10 a.m. on April 20, after police were first called about a reported fight. By the time officers arrived, the confrontation had grown into a larger shooting scene. The deaths of two boys, both under 18, and injuries to five other teens quickly turned the case into one of the area’s most serious acts of youth violence this year.
Police said officers were dispatched at about 9:50 a.m. after receiving reports of a fight at the park. While they were on the way, callers reported that shots had been fired. Investigators later said the violence began as a pre-planned fight involving juveniles. When the groups met at the park, the situation escalated and multiple people exchanged gunfire. Officers arriving at the scene saw several people running away and found one victim, later identified as 17-year-old Erubey Romero Medina, in the parking lot with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, 16-year-old Daniel Jimenez Millian, was found farther inside the park and also was pronounced dead there.
Police said seven people in all were struck by gunfire, including the two who died. The surviving victims ranged in age from 14 to 19, and their injuries varied from minor to critical. Authorities withheld some names because several of the injured are minors, and they also said the identities of injured adults would remain private while detectives sort out whether each person was a victim, witness or participant. Winston-Salem police said early in the investigation that some of the injured may also have been involved in the gunfire. That left major questions unresolved through Tuesday morning, including who fired first, how many guns were used and whether any of the wounded would face charges.
The shooting also rippled beyond the park. Leinbach Park sits near Jefferson Middle School, and nearby schools were placed on secure status while law enforcement responded. The incident unfolded during the morning, when many parents were sending children to class or work and had little information beyond alerts and word spreading on phones. The setting deepened the shock in a community already wary of how quickly youth disputes can move from social media or private arguments into public violence. The fact that police described the fight as planned added another layer of concern, suggesting that at least some people knew a confrontation was coming before anyone called 911.
At a news conference after the shooting, Winston-Salem Police Chief William H. Penn Jr. said he was angry and heartbroken over what happened. He said the violence did not have to occur and described it as senseless. Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill also said he believed someone likely knew the fight had been arranged and could have alerted authorities sooner. By Tuesday, police said they were not seeking other suspects, but officials announced that adults who stood by and watched the fight could face charges. That signaled the investigation had widened beyond the shooters themselves to include older people accused of encouraging or allowing the gathering to unfold.
As of Tuesday, detectives were continuing interviews, reviewing evidence and trying to pin down each person’s role in the confrontation. The next steps are expected to include criminal charging decisions, additional witness interviews and possible updates from police and prosecutors as the case develops. For now, the city is left with two dead teenagers, five wounded young people and a growing investigation centered on how a planned fight at a public park became a deadly shooting.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.