WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal shooting on the Wake Forest University campus nearly two years ago, according to court documents.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court show a settlement between the school’s chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a defendant in the lawsuit, and the mother of shooting victim Najee Baker, who filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of her son’s estate, the Winston-Salem Journal reported on Tuesday.
Claims against other defendants in the lawsuit, including Wake Forest, are still pending, the newspaper reported.
Baker, a football player at Winston-Salem State University, was attending a party at a venue on the Wake Forest campus on Jan. 20, 2018, when he was shot. Baker died about an hour later from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Two people are charged in Baker’s death, including Jakier Shanique Austin, 23, who was charged with murder, possession of a firearm on educational property and carrying a concealed weapon.
Delta Sigma Theta hosted the party. The lawsuit alleges that the sorority was negligent in allowing Austin and Smith, who did not attend any colleges in the area, to attend the event. According to police and the lawsuit, Baker fought with Austin and the second person inside the venue.
Investigators said that after the fight was broken up and the party ended, Austin and the second person went to their car and got guns before confronting Baker and another Winston-Salem State student on a campus road. Austin shot Baker while the second person held the second WSSU student at gunpoint, the lawsuit said.
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