Shooting victims ID'd in Wingate shooting

WINGATE, N.C. — Wingate police identified the shooting victims who died Wednesday night near Wingate Univeristy as Jaun Garcia and Yader Sandoval.

Eleonel Garcia is in fair condition.

Investigators arrested two suspects Wednesday night in connection with the shooting deaths in Wingate around 11:40 p.m.

The suspects were arrested at Willow Oaks Apartments in Monroe.

Daniel Steven Sheerer and Tony Antwone Knotts, of Marshville, are being held without bond at the Union County Jail.

Police say Sheerer and Knotts are both charged with two counts first-degree murder, one count each of attempted first-degree murder and one count each of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Officers say the pair subsequently confessed to breaking into several homes in the Union County area.

School officials lifted a lockdown as police looked for clues at two different crime scenes near Wingate University Wednesday night.

The lockdown at Wingate University was lifted at about 8:30 p.m.

Authorities indicated that no university students or employees were believed to be involved in the incident, according to a statement from the university.

At about 5:45 pm Wednesday, a Union County deputy was traveling out of Wingate on East Wilson Street, according to a news release sent by Wingate police.

He was flagged down by a passing motorist, who reported a car stopped in the roadway near Burris Street.

The officer determined that a man had collapsed off the roadway near the car, and he had apparently been shot and the officer called for medical and law enforcement assistance.

While authorities were rendering aid to the man, a passerby near Zeb Goodman Road noticed another man lying near the entrance to the Wingate University Lake, which is on that road.

Authorities responded and found two other men on Zeb Goodman Road who had also been shot. One of the men was still alive, and was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Investigators are not speculating on a motive for the shootings and the investigation is ongoing.

Eyewitness News reporter Nate Stewart talked to residents at a student housing complex near campus.

The news that the lockdown was lifted has many students relieved.

The campus-wide alert system sent texts, phone calls and emails out to students, starting at 6:15 p.m. that there had been two homicides near campus.

Many students said they are preparing for finals this week, but when they first got the alerts some students said school staff and faculty turned off the lights in many of the rooms and the cafeteria and forced students down on the ground.

"They locked the cafe down and they cut all the lights down," said Angelo Crawford-Reid.

"We were taking a test and my friend came back in and said we were on lockdown so we turned off all the lights and got on the floor and it was pretty scary," said Paris Brooks.

Stay with Eyewitness News for more on this developing story.

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