On July 18, 2023, around midnight, Winston-Salem officers found 27-year-old Mario Radford Todd Jr. suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the 600 block of Mock Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say Todd had been in a verbal altercation with someone he knew when the person produced a firearm and shot him.

A 23-year-old, identified in charging documents as Tyrese Malik Joyner, turned himself in on July 24, 2023, and was charged with second-degree murder. Todd was a father to two sons, Zakier Todd and Mal'achi Ward, and worked at Bermuda Run Country Club. Funeral services were held on July 28, 2023.

The slaying was recorded as Winston-Salem’s 31st homicide of 2023, up from 21 at the same point in 2022, a jump that has prompted local concern about rising violence. If anyone knew Mario or has information about the shooting, please come forward and share what you know.