Daily Deacon

Briefs, Merritt Enright

1. Shots Fired in Vehicle Chase

Shortly after 9pm on Saturday, two victims, Darryl Myers Jr and Darryl Myers III (age 2),

received gunshot wounds in a vehicle chase on Rosie Street. According to a report from the

Winston­Salem Police Department, the suspects are 4­5 black males driving an unidentified

black vehicle.

A neighbor reportedly first saw the vehicle parked behind the Myers’ home and notified the

family, who was not home at the time. Upon their arrival, the Myers found the car parked

behind their house occupied by 2­3 black males and an additional 2 black males standing outside

the car. Darryl Myers attempted to block the vehicle behind the house, but the unidentified

driver managed to escape, leaving 2 males standing outside the car.

After a vehicle pursuit through several neighborhood streets, shots were fired at the Myers’ car

by an unknown assailant at the intersection of Ferndale Avenue and Lambeth Street. Darryl

Myers and his infant son were both shot in the foot and immediately transported to NCBH after

responding to a nearby convenience store.

The injuries were non­life threatening and both victims are expected to recover fully. Police

suspect the gunmen to be the 2 males left behind in the vehicle chase.

Questions: Is a further police investigation being carried out? Is there any supposed

identification of the car? Have there been any previous reports of a suspicious group of black

males in the area?

2. Daughter and Father Found Dead in Home

Wednesday afternoon at 3pm, Winston­Salem Police Department officers found and identified

the bodies of 6 year­old Iza Lily Morris and her father, Derek Morris, in the victims’ home on

5356 Old Rural Hall Road. Officers located single gunshot wounds on each body.

A Criminal Investigations Division report reveals that Derek Morris was enstranged from his

wife, Iza’s mother. The couple was undergoing divorce and child custody negotiations at the

time of the homicide.

Although no suspects have arisen, a full investigation and autopsies are underway with the

support of the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Questions: Did surrounding neighbors have any witness to the homicide? Is there any follow up

evidence from the police department? What was Mrs. Morris’ name and did she have any

reported hostility towards her family/history of mental instability?

Police Brief Edits

 

Good work with the police briefs. I’m not going to comment on individual work, but I will make some general observations that I hope will be useful to all of you.

1. Avoid police language, or jargon from whatever field you’re writing about. Try to write as though you were telling your roommate a story. Would you ever say, “upon arrival at the scene,” or refer to the “deceased,” or “an incident.” Instead of “the deceased,” you can refer to the dead woman. The word “incident,’ is vague. Refer instead to the fire, the shooting, the burglary or the death. Strive for precision and clarity.
2. Avoid the passive voice, whenever possible.
3. Those of us in the media shape our culture’s understanding of race. That means we all have a responsibility to make sure we are not perpetuating stereotypes or creating them. In general, there’s no good reason to mention the race of a victim or a suspect unless it’s of significance to the story. Is it relevant that the man who was electrocuted was black? If it’s not relevant, don’t mention it. When police are looking for a suspect, the race may be relevant. But make sure that police have provided a detailed description. A black man in his 20s is not a description that would help anyone find a suspect and only serves to make every black man in your community suspect.
4. In general, the name of a victim or a suspect doesn’t belong in the lede. The news is in the “what,” not the specifics of the “who.” But if the mayor is arrested, then the name belongs in the lede.
5. Find the news in whatever set of facts you’re dealing with. The story of the man who was electrocuted is extraordinary because he was salvaging copper wire. That’s unusual. (Good idea to try to expand the story, by the way, with on the growing trend to steal copper wire for resale.)
6. Check the spelling on all names. It’s up to you, the reporter, to get the facts straight, regardless of what the report says. The two clerks who were robbed at Hanes Mall worked for Buckles, not BUCKLES. When you make spelling errors you undermine your credibility.
7. Finally, avoid starting a story with the time element.

Phoebe Zerwick

Thirty rescued from flooded nightclub, zerwick

I edited the short story we wrote for brevity and active verbs. I also checked the name of the creek on Google maps and added that. I moved the name of the club to the third paragraph because it’s not well known. The street, however, is well known by our imagined readers. I also moved the time element to the end of the first sentence. In general, starting with the time element slows the story down.

 

 

Firefighters used an inflatable raft to rescue 30 patrons from a nightclub on Northwest Boulevard after heavy rains flooded the parking lot last night, according to a report by the Winston-Salem Fire Department.

The report said that swift-moving water carried parked cars into nearby Peters Creek. Rescuers also a helped a man trapped on his car to safety.

Water had risen to a depth of four feet outside Studio 99 by the time rescuers arrived shortly after 9:40. The report does not mention any injuries.