Melinda Yvonne Hayes was 21 when she was killed on July 17, 1988, during a mass shooting outside a Winston-Salem moped shop owned by her stepfather. The shooter, Michael Charles Hayes, opened fire with a .22 caliber rifle beginning around 11:00 p.m., wounding nine people and killing four victims that night: Melinda Hayes, Crystal Cantrell, Thomas Walter Nicholson, and Ronald Lee Hull. Deputies critically wounded Michael Hayes about 11:45 p.m., ending the rampage, and he was taken into custody and charged with four counts of murder.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department faced criticism over its response after witnesses said deputies hesitated to engage the shooter; the sheriff stated deputies responded immediately after a first call at 11:32 p.m., while some witnesses said the first call came earlier. Michael Hayes’ trial began March 27, 1989, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Dorothea Dix State Mental Hospital. Several subsequent petitions for his release have been opposed by victims’ families and the community.

Does anyone have information about Melinda Hayes’ life in Winston-Salem or memories of that night that could help keep her story visible?