Trial Set For Lawsuit Over Shooting On Wake Forest Campus

A lawsuit filed over the shooting death of a Winston-Salem State University student on Wake Forest University's campus has been scheduled for trial.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported Monday that the court proceeding is set for Oct. 4 in federal court.

Najee Ali Baker was WSSU football player from New York. He was shot to death in 2018 when he was leaving a party that was held at The Barn on Wake Forest University's campus. Two men were charged in his death.

Baker's mother, Jemel Ali Dixon, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wake Forest University and others. Other defendants include Rhino Sports & Entertainment Services LLC, which provided private security at the party.

The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching an attorney for Rhino Sports. William Davis, an attorney for Wake Forest University, said that the school's policy is not to comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that Wake Forest University administrators were negligent and had lax security for the party at The Barn. But the school's attorneys have denied the allegations in court papers. They said school administrators had no way of preventing the shooting or predicting that it could happen.