Juvenile arrested for July 4th shooting outside Truist Stadium; parent charged
Chief Penn issues blunt message to parents about parental responsibility
TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Fourth of July festivities at Truist Stadium ended in terror last Friday night after gunshots rang out in the parking lot following the firework display and other events held at the baseball stadium.
Here’s what we know: around 10:18 p.m., officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) responded to a shooting in the parking lot. Shortly thereafter a juvenile was discovered suffering from a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Saturday, 16-year-old Cortez Jimel Arbery, Jr. was arrested for their involvement in the shooting. They have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, as well as drug possession. According to the WSPD, the shooting appears to be targeted.
In a statement released on Facebook that same day, Chief William Penn addressed the rise in crimes involving juveniles and urged parents to do their part. “If you left your child unattended at Truist Stadium last night, dropped them off downtown earlier this summer, are considering dropping them off at the fair this fall, or don’t know where they are late at night or early in the morning – this message is for you, and only you,” said Penn in his statement.
“As your chief of police, I say to you, I am tired. I am tired of talking to you about your lack of parenting and supervision. I am tired of events ending in violence. I am tired of seeing the men and women of the Winston-Salem Police Department dealing with your children and the chaos they are causing in our community. I am tired of innocent people and businesses being impacted by your child’s unruly behavior. I am tired of youth who feel violence is their only answer to conflict. God blessed you with the gift of a child. It is your responsibility and your job to teach them, shape them, discipline them, monitor them, and put them on the path to success. When you don’t take your job seriously and your child starts to make poor choices, that’s when you step in and provide appropriate guidance and care, not leave them unattended for hours on end. When you tap out, unfortunately, the police department often gets tapped in. Public safety is something we take very seriously. We do our job 24/7. You do yours.”
Local law enforcement has been trying to get a hand on juvenile crime for a while now. In 2020 city officials held a series of community discussions on juvenile crime and the rise in violent crime. At those meetings, the community had the opportunity to make suggestions on how to stop the violence and representatives from the state, city, county, and other stakeholders in the community talked about what they had in place to combat the issue.
Just a few months ago, Chief Penn, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, and Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill held a joint press conference to address juveniles committing crimes downtown.
The WSPD provided incident reports and video clips of large groups of teenagers involved in fights, vandalism and other disorderly conduct. According to reports, these gatherings often involved more than 100 teenagers spread across various parts of downtown.
During the press conference O’Neill, who has led the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office since 2009, said in addition to implementing a curfew, he had conversations about charging parents who allow their children to be unsupervised.
“You have to know where your children are at 10 o’clock at night, 12 o’clock at night or 2 o’clock in the morning. They cannot be running rampant … there will be consequences if this behavior continues,” O’Neill said.
According to a press release issued by the WSPD on Monday, July 7, the juvenile suspect’s parent, Tia Shaundree Barnes, was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, resisting, delay and obstructing a public officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Barnes was also served with an outstanding warrant for an unrelated matter and appeared before a magistrate and received a $6,000 secured bond.
