Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 30, 2008 13:56:53 GMT -5
Article published Apr 30, 2008
A&T to honor student killed in 1969
By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO — A victim of one of Greensboro's most violent and volatile periods will finally receive the degree he was working toward before being shot and killed in 1969.
N.C. A&T will honor Willie Grimes with a bachelor of science degree May 10 during the school's commencement.
Grimes, 20 at the time, was shot in the head on May 22, 1969, while crossing campus with friends. They were headed to a nearby McDonald's to get something to eat and investigate a rumor that a group of white people were assaulting black patrons.
The unrest had begun a few days earlier when administrators at Dudley High refused to recognize the results of a student election. Protests at the school led to clashes with police. The activity moved to A&T, and Mayor Jack Elam called in the National Guard on May 21.
Police and National Guardsmen report being shot at over the next two days. Several were injured, one critically. Another student was shot in the leg. A sweep of Cooper and Scott halls on campus turned up several weapons.
Eyewitnesses say they believe a Greensboro police officer in an unmarked car shot Grimes. The Greensboro Police Department, State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI investigated the case; all reported that their findings were inconclusive.
Grimes' death remains the city's oldest unsolved homicide.
A&T to honor student killed in 1969
By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO — A victim of one of Greensboro's most violent and volatile periods will finally receive the degree he was working toward before being shot and killed in 1969.
N.C. A&T will honor Willie Grimes with a bachelor of science degree May 10 during the school's commencement.
Grimes, 20 at the time, was shot in the head on May 22, 1969, while crossing campus with friends. They were headed to a nearby McDonald's to get something to eat and investigate a rumor that a group of white people were assaulting black patrons.
The unrest had begun a few days earlier when administrators at Dudley High refused to recognize the results of a student election. Protests at the school led to clashes with police. The activity moved to A&T, and Mayor Jack Elam called in the National Guard on May 21.
Police and National Guardsmen report being shot at over the next two days. Several were injured, one critically. Another student was shot in the leg. A sweep of Cooper and Scott halls on campus turned up several weapons.
Eyewitnesses say they believe a Greensboro police officer in an unmarked car shot Grimes. The Greensboro Police Department, State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI investigated the case; all reported that their findings were inconclusive.
Grimes' death remains the city's oldest unsolved homicide.
