Guilford County schools secure Jefferson, Mt. Tabor after Winston-Salem shooting

Guilford County Schools put Mount Tabor High School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School on secure status Monday morning after a shooting at Leinbach Park in northwest Winston-Salem brought a heavy police response near Robinhood Road and Sally Kirk Road.

The precaution meant the schools stayed open, but movement was restricted while officers dealt with the nearby scene. District officials said students were safe and classes continued normally, even as police worked the area around the park and nearby neighborhoods.

Winston-Salem police said the incident began as a planned fight involving young people around 9:50 a.m. and escalated into gunfire as officers responded. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation later confirmed that two people were killed. Police said several victims and suspects had been identified and found, and that some of those involved were juveniles.

The response rippled quickly through the area around Mount Tabor High, 342 Petree Rd., and Thomas Jefferson Middle, 3500 Sally Kirk Road. Norman Road at Robinhood Road and Sally Kirk Road at Norman Road were closed, Leinbach Park was shut down until further notice, and the Robinhood Road Family YMCA was inaccessible because of the police perimeter.

For parents who needed to pick up students, officials directed Mount Tabor High families to bring a photo ID and go to the front door. Jefferson Middle parents were told to use Peace Haven to Millhaven to Tallison to Thornhill and enter through the car rider line entrance. Police also asked the public not to fly personal drones while officers used drones in the search for involved individuals.

The secure status at the two schools eased the immediate risk inside the buildings, but the broader scene remained active as investigators continued working a shooting that left two people dead and shut down a stretch of one of Winston-Salem’s busiest northwest corridors.