Crystal Suzanne Cantrell was 16 when she was killed on July 17, 1988, in a mass shooting on Old Salisbury Road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was shot three times in her car after being flagged down by the shooter, Michael Charles Hayes, who fired a .22-caliber rifle and shot nine people that night. Four people died: Crystal Cantrell, Tom Nicholson, Melinda Hayes, and Ronnie Hull; five others were wounded, including Hayes, who was also shot by Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies.

Hayes was 24 at the time and had a history of drug abuse and mental illness, with unstable behavior reported in the weeks before the attack. He was charged for the killings but was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity at trial, a verdict that prompted controversy and efforts in the N.C. General Assembly to change the law on insanity verdicts. Crystal’s family criticized the response, with an uncle saying deputies allowed victims to drive into Hayes’ range.

If anyone knew Crystal or witnessed what happened that night, please share information that could add detail or context to her story.