Adults who encouraged fight before mass shooting will be charged, NC police say
Adults who encouraged the “delinquent behavior” that led to a mass shooting are going to be charged with a crime, North Carolina investigators say.
Winston-Salem Police Chief William H. Penn Jr. made the announcement Tuesday, one day after seven people were shot during a “planned fight” at a city park.
Two of teens died, and five others have injuries ranging from minor to critical, police said.
All the suspects involved in the shooting have been identified, police said.
“There are no other suspects being sought,” Penn said in a video posted April 21 on Facebook.
“In addition, there will be charges for the adults who stood by during this fight yesterday. After consulting with our district attorney, we will be charging those adults ... and we’re sending the message that if you stand by, encourage, aid or abet our juveniles in delinquent behavior, we will not tolerate it in our community.”
He did not say how many “young adults” engaged in such behavior at the scene.
The first of the adults to be charged is 18-year-old Joel Michael Gamble-Toliver, who is accused of felony child abuse, police said. The charge applies when a parent, caregiver or supervisor of someone under age 16 is negligent and displays “a reckless disregard of human life,” officials said.
“The investigation revealed that Mr. Gamble-Toliver came to Leinbach Park with the understanding that a pre-arranged fight would occur,” police said in a news release. “While on scene, he engaged in a physical altercation with a juvenile male. Detectives also determined that Mr. Gamble-Toliver produced and discharged a firearm during the incident.”
The mass shooting happened just before 10 a.m. Monday in Leinbach Park, and the dead have been identified as 16-year-old Daniel Jimenez Millian and 17-year-old Erubey Romero Medina, police said at a news conference.
The wounded included three minors, ages 14 to 17, and two adults, ages 18 and 19. It’s suspected some of the wounded were also among the shooters, police said.
“The incident began ... as a planned fight involving two young individuals,” police said. “The situation escalated significantly, leading to multiple people exchanging gunfire.”
Investigators have not said what led to shots being fired.
Winston-Salem is about an 80-mile drive northeast from uptown Charlotte.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Adults who encouraged fight before mass shooting will be charged, NC police say."