{
  "id": "2018-01-20-wake-forest-the-barn-shooting",
  "slug": "wake-forest-the-barn-shooting-2018-01-20",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Wake Forest University",
    "shortName": "Wake Forest",
    "state": "NC",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Wake Alert",
    "enrollment": 8800
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2018-01-20",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Visiting student fatally shot during a sorority party at a campus event venue",
    "headlinePublic": "Visiting student fatally shot during a sorority party at a campus event venue",
    "summary": "On the early morning of January 20, 2018, [Najee Ali Baker, a 21-year-old Winston-Salem State University football player](https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/winston-salem-state-wake-forest-shooting/46793/), was fatally shot inside The Barn (an event venue on Wake Forest University's Reynolda Campus) during a party hosted by the Pi Omicron chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Wake Forest issued a [Wake Alert at 2:03 AM EST](https://news.wfu.edu/2018/01/26/campus-shooting-information/) directing the campus community to shelter in place while Winston-Salem police investigated. The suspect, [21-year-old Jakier Shanique Austin](https://myfox8.com/news/man-who-shot-killed-wssu-football-player-at-wake-forest-university-event-in-2018-sentenced-to-64-89-months-in-prison/), fled the scene and was arrested on April 11, 2018; he later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 64-89 months in prison.",
    "outcome": "Najee Ali Baker, a Winston-Salem State University football player, was shot during an altercation inside The Barn and pronounced dead at the hospital. Suspect Jakier Shanique Austin fled and was arrested approximately three months later. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 64-89 months in prison. Wake Forest faced a wrongful death lawsuit; a federal judge dismissed it in August 2021 and the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal in May 2022.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 1,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T02:00:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Armed and dangerous person reported at The Barn. Police are responding. Follow updates on this site.\n\nSeek shelter now. Stay in place until further notice. If you are off campus, stay away.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/armed-and-dangerous-person-reported-at-the-barn.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Wake Alert official archive (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Corrected to full official Wake Alert page body (byline January 20, 2018 2:00 a.m.).",
        "Two-paragraph shelter order: report of armed person at The Barn plus seek-shelter instruction."
      ],
      "characterCount": 189
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T02:27:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Police are searching for a suspect in a shooting at The Barn tonight on campus. Police are on the scene. Stay in place until further notice. If you are off campus, stay away. Police are responding. Our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of those on our campus. Updates will appear on this site as soon as possible.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-seeking-suspect-in-shooting-at-the-barn.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Wake Alert official archive (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expansion from official Wake Alert archive page."
      ],
      "characterCount": 329
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T02:27:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Police continue to search for a suspect in a shooting at The Barn tonight. Police are on the scene. A shooting victim has been taken to the hospital. Students off campus may return to campus now. No one is permitted to come to The Barn area. Residents of Palmer and Piccolo should go to the University Police Department in Alumni Hall if they are trying to return to their residence hall.\n\nWinston-Salem Police and University Police are increasing patrols of the campus and campus area.\n\nOur first priority is to ensure the health and safety of those on our campus. Updates will appear on this website as soon as possible.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-continue-search-for-suspect-in-shooting.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Wake Alert official archive (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expansion from official Wake Alert archive page."
      ],
      "characterCount": 622
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T03:17:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Winston-Salem Police and University Police are searching for a suspect in a shooting at The Barn tonight. Police do not believe the suspect is on campus.\n\nThe shooting occurred around 1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20.\n\nPolice have increased patrols of the campus and nearby areas.\n\nA shooting victim has been taken to the hospital. Students off campus may return to campus now. No one is permitted to come to The Barn area. Residents of Palmer and Piccolo should go to the University Police Department in Alumni Hall if they are trying to return to their residence hall.\n\nOur first priority is to ensure the health and safety of those on our campus. Updates will appear on this website as soon as possible.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-do-not-believe-suspect-on-campus-at-this-time.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Wake Alert official archive (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expansion from official Wake Alert archive page."
      ],
      "characterCount": 698
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T03:19:05-05:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Winston-Salem Police and University Police are searching for a suspect in a shooting at The Barn on the @WakeForest campus tonight. Police do not believe the suspect is on campus. More at http://wakealert.wfu.edu",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/WakeAlert/status/954629339009683456",
      "sourceDescription": "@WakeAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Official @WakeAlert X post; shorter redistribution of the “do not believe suspect on campus” update.",
        "Verified via fxtwitter; text matches status/954629339009683456."
      ],
      "characterCount": 212
    },
    {
      "sequence": 6,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2018-01-20T06:39:00-05:00",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "The emergency situation at Wake Forest is now over. The investigation continues. Updates will be posted to Inside WFU as appropriate.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/emergency-situation-over.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Wake Alert official archive (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Cascade expansion from official Wake Alert archive page."
      ],
      "characterCount": 133
    }
  ],
  "context": "[Wake Forest University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Forest_University) is a private R1 research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with an undergraduate population of approximately 5,500. The Barn is an event venue on the university's [Reynolda Campus](https://news.wfu.edu/2018/01/26/campus-shooting-information/) that the university rents to student organizations for events. On the early morning of January 20, 2018, the Pi Omicron chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority (a multi-school chapter that draws from Wake Forest, Winston-Salem State University, and other area institutions) hosted a party at The Barn that drew approximately 400 attendees. Around 12:50 AM EST, an altercation broke out and [21-year-old Najee Ali Baker, a Winston-Salem State University football player](https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/winston-salem-state-wake-forest-shooting/46793/), was fatally shot. Baker was transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The shooter fled the scene before Winston-Salem police arrived. Wake Forest's [Wake Alert system](https://wakealert.wfu.edu/) issued a shelter-in-place directive shortly after, which was lifted within a few hours once police determined the suspect had left the campus. On April 11, 2018, [21-year-old Jakier Shanique Austin was arrested](https://myfox8.com/news/man-who-shot-killed-wssu-football-player-at-wake-forest-university-event-in-2018-sentenced-to-64-89-months-in-prison/) and charged with murder; he later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 64-89 months in prison. Baker's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wake Forest, alleging insufficient security at The Barn for an event of that size, but [U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles dismissed the suit with prejudice in August 2021](https://nclawyersweekly.com/2021/08/25/judge-dismisses-suit-against-wake-forest-over-campus-shooting/) and the [Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal in May 2022](https://wfuogb.com/16790/news/appeals-court-affirms-dismissal-of-barn-lawsuit/), with both courts ruling Baker's killing was not foreseeable and Wake Forest had not breached its duty of care. The case prompted Wake Forest to review its policies for renting The Barn to student groups and tighten security requirements for large events.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "A Winston-Salem State University football player was killed at a sorority party held at a Wake Forest event venue, illustrating how non-Wake Forest students can be victims of on-campus violence at events open to outside attendees",
    "The shooter was not a Wake Forest student; he fled the scene and was arrested nearly three months later",
    "A federal district court dismissed the wrongful death suit against Wake Forest in August 2021 and the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal in May 2022",
    "The case prompted Wake Forest to review its event-rental policies for The Barn and security requirements for large events"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Winston-Salem State Student Shot, Killed at Wake Forest (Campus Safety Magazine)",
      "url": "https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/winston-salem-state-wake-forest-shooting/46793/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "On-campus shooting information (Wake Forest News)",
      "url": "https://news.wfu.edu/2018/01/26/campus-shooting-information/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "President Hatch: Update about on-campus shooting investigation (Inside WFU)",
      "url": "https://inside.wfu.edu/2018/01/president-hatch-update-campus-shooting-investigation/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Jan. 24 WSPD update: Arrest made in the on-campus shooting investigation (Inside WFU)",
      "url": "https://inside.wfu.edu/2018/01/jan-24-wspd-update-arrest-made-campus-shooting-investigation/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Man who shot, killed WSSU football player at Wake Forest University event in 2018 sentenced (FOX8 WGHP)",
      "url": "https://myfox8.com/news/man-who-shot-killed-wssu-football-player-at-wake-forest-university-event-in-2018-sentenced-to-64-89-months-in-prison/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Court: Wake Forest University not liable for fatal campus shooting of WSSU student (Winston-Salem Journal)",
      "url": "https://journalnow.com/news/local/crime-courts/court-wake-forest-university-not-liable-for-fatal-campus-shooting-of-wssu-student/article_c297e3f8-dacd-11ec-a5f5-0b25c1555243.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/WakeAlert/status/954629339009683456",
      "title": "@WakeAlert on X",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert armed person at The Barn",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/armed-and-dangerous-person-reported-at-the-barn.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert seeking suspect",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-seeking-suspect-in-shooting-at-the-barn.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert continue search",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-continue-search-for-suspect-in-shooting.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert suspect not on campus",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/police-do-not-believe-suspect-on-campus-at-this-time.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Wake Alert emergency over",
      "url": "https://wakealert.wfu.edu/2018/01/emergency-situation-over.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "private-r1",
    "north-carolina",
    "wake-forest",
    "the-barn",
    "sorority-party",
    "off-campus-attendees",
    "wssu-victim",
    "wake-alert",
    "wrongful-death-suit"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-19",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}