{
  "id": "2024-06-28-wingate-university-baseball-field-shooting",
  "slug": "wingate-university-baseball-field-shooting-2024-06-28",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Wingate University",
    "shortName": "Wingate",
    "state": "NC",
    "type": "private-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Wingate Alert (Bulldog Alerts)",
    "enrollment": 3300
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-06-28",
    "type": "shooting",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Driver fired shots inside his crashed truck near the baseball field; one-hour lockdown",
    "headlinePublic": "Driver fired shots inside his crashed truck near the baseball field; one-hour lockdown",
    "summary": "On the evening of June 28, 2024, [a man drove erratically down Wilson Street, crashed his pickup into a ditch near Wingate University's baseball field during a youth baseball game, fired multiple shots inside the cab, injuring himself, then jumped the fence onto the field](https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/shooting-near-wingate-university-6-28-2024/275-73bff175-0656-4920-99af-9d35353f85cc). Wingate issued a [campus-wide lockdown via its Bulldog Alerts system around 7 PM EDT](https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/union-county/wingate/no-longer-a-threat-wingate-university-campus-safe-following-shooting-lockdown-officials/) that lasted approximately one hour before the all-clear was issued.",
    "outcome": "The shooter, later identified as Weston Parker Charles Vonegidy and not affiliated with Wingate, was airlifted to a hospital with self-inflicted gunshot wounds and taken into custody. No one at the baseball game was injured. He faced weapons and drug charges.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 1
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-06-28T19:05:00-04:00",
      "timestampApprox": "Just before 7:00 PM EDT on June 28, 2024",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Urgent Wingate Alert! The lockdown remains in place. Law enforcement is investigating a shooting that took place at the baseball field. One person is in custody. Police confirm that the incident does not involve a member of the Wingate University campus community.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/union-county/wingate/no-longer-a-threat-wingate-university-campus-safe-following-shooting-lockdown-officials/",
      "sourceDescription": "QCNews coverage quoting Wingate Alert verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent during the active phase of the lockdown, after Wingate Police had isolated the shooter on the baseball field",
        "Notably reassures the campus that 'the incident does not involve a member of the Wingate University campus community', addressing the students and parents present at the youth baseball game",
        "Uses 'Urgent Wingate Alert!' header, Wingate's escalation marker for active-threat messaging"
      ],
      "characterCount": 264
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2024-06-28T20:00:00-04:00",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately one hour after the initial alert, around 8:00 PM EDT",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Urgent Wingate Alert! There is no longer a threat to campus. Please stay away from the baseball field as law enforcement continues to investigate. More information will be forthcoming.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/union-county/wingate/no-longer-a-threat-wingate-university-campus-safe-following-shooting-lockdown-officials/",
      "sourceDescription": "QCNews coverage quoting Wingate Alert verbatim",
      "annotations": [
        "Lifts the lockdown but maintains an active perimeter around the baseball field, where Vonegidy was being processed and his disabled pickup remained in the ditch",
        "Uses the phrase 'no longer a threat', Wingate's standard all-clear phrasing, also used in subsequent May 2025 lockdown",
        "Promises follow-up communication but does not name the suspect (Vonegidy was not identified publicly until July 3)"
      ],
      "characterCount": 184
    }
  ],
  "context": "Around 7 PM EDT on June 28, 2024, a youth baseball game on Wingate University's baseball field was interrupted when a man (later identified as Weston Parker Charles Vonegidy) [drove erratically down Wilson Street, drove his pickup truck into a ditch near the field, fired several rounds inside the cab, hurting himself, then jumped the fence onto the field](https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/shooting-wingate-university-baseball-field-prompts-campuswide-lockdown/2EWWZKBK4NG2ZFIGBNFQV646HY/). Parents and children fled in panic. Wingate police and Union County deputies responded quickly; the shooter was apprehended and airlifted to a hospital with his self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Wingate issued a [campus-wide lockdown via its Bulldog Alerts SMS system](https://www.wbtv.com/2024/06/29/officials-1-custody-after-shooting-wingate-university-baseball-field/) and lifted it about an hour later. [Vonegidy, who was not affiliated with Wingate, faced weapons and drug charges](https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-facing-weapon-drug-charges-151121778.html). The incident was the second armed-attacker lockdown at Wingate within six months (following [the January 12, 2024 knife attack on a student](https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/wingate-university-lockdown-knife-attack/275-f7342f4f-18c1-42bc-a4b8-d009aa833269)). A [third Wingate lockdown followed in May 2025](https://www.wbtv.com/2025/05/06/lockdown-lifted-after-report-masked-gunman-charlotte-area-college/) over reports of a masked gunman at Helms Residence Hall.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Both Wingate Alert messages led with 'Urgent Wingate Alert!', a consistent escalation marker the school uses for active-threat events",
    "The initial alert explicitly reassured the campus community that the shooter was not affiliated with Wingate, addressing the students and parents at the active youth-baseball event on campus",
    "The shooter's wounds were entirely self-inflicted; no spectators or players at the game were hurt despite multiple rounds fired",
    "This was Wingate's second armed-attacker lockdown of 2024, both involving non-affiliated attackers accessing the open campus"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Wingate University campus safe following shooting lockdown (QCNews)",
      "url": "https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/union-county/wingate/no-longer-a-threat-wingate-university-campus-safe-following-shooting-lockdown-officials/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Man hurt by own gun after firing during youth baseball game at Wingate University (WCNC)",
      "url": "https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/shooting-near-wingate-university-6-28-2024/275-73bff175-0656-4920-99af-9d35353f85cc",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Officials: Man fires multiple rounds during baseball game at Wingate University (WBTV)",
      "url": "https://www.wbtv.com/2024/06/29/officials-1-custody-after-shooting-wingate-university-baseball-field/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Gunfire sends a youth baseball game into a panic at Wingate University (WSOC TV)",
      "url": "https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/shooting-wingate-university-baseball-field-prompts-campuswide-lockdown/2EWWZKBK4NG2ZFIGBNFQV646HY/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Man facing weapon and drug charges in shooting near Wingate University's baseball field (Yahoo)",
      "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-facing-weapon-drug-charges-151121778.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "shooting",
    "north-carolina",
    "private-college",
    "self-inflicted",
    "lockdown",
    "non-affiliated-attacker",
    "athletic-venue",
    "wingate"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-05-13",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}