Winston-Salem State University football player killed at Wake Forest party

Baker played football one season at Dean College in Franklin, Mass., 
before transferring to WSSU in 2017.

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Tragedy has struck the Winston-Salem State University community.

Najee Ali Baker, 21, was shot and killed at an on-campus party at nearby Wake Forest late Friday, according to Wake Forest University President Nathan Hatch.

“At approximately 1 a.m. this morning, Najee Ali Baker, a student at Winston-Salem State University, was shot during an altercation at a party on campus in The Barn,” Hatch said in a statement. “I am deeply saddened to report that the student later succumbed to his injuries. My thoughts and prayers this morning are with the student’s family, friends and classmates, as well as our Wake Forest community.”

Baker, from Brooklyn, N.Y., was taken to a local hospital where he later died. He was majoring in physical education, and he was a walk-on on the football team.

“I’m looking forward to contributing at Winston-Salem State,” Baker told the Winston-Salem Journal last March when he committed. “I’ve spent a lot of time in Charlotte and wanted to get back down south, so I’m very excited about this move.”

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