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'All I want is justice for my son’ | A mother mourning after son killed in Winston-Salem shooting

Tristen Gadberry was 22-years-old, and had a 5-year-old child. He was shot and killed on Bruce Street Friday evening.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting in Winston-Salem Friday.

The Winston-Salem police department’s SWAT team and the U.S. Marshal brought 20-year-old Justin Bankins into custody, Saturday for the killing of 22-year-old Tristen Gadberry.

Although good news, Tanya Renee Mabe experienced a mother’s worst nightmare.

 “They left my son shot in the head on the sidewalk. He was 22-years-old with a 5-year-old child,” Renee Mabe said.

While at work, she got the news her son was killed.

Saturday, she pulled her spirit and family together to visit the place where he was shot on Bruce Street in Winston-Salem. He later died at a hospital.

“His heart stopped beating at 9:55 p.m. last night, and all I want is justice for my son,” Renee Mabe said. “My son didn’t deserve this.”

Winston-Salem police are investigating what led to the shooting.

Credit: Winston-Salem Police Department
Justin Baskins, 20, was arrested on June 12, 2021, accused of shooting and killing Tristen Gadberry, 22, in Winston-Salem.

RELATED: Winston-Salem Police investigating after shooting kills 22-year-old man

UPDATE June 12, 2021: Detectives with the Winston-Salem Police Department continue to investigate this matter. Early...

Posted by Crime Stoppers of Winston Salem Forsyth County on Saturday, June 12, 2021

Renee Mabe, with tissue in hand, said this is a situation that’s been escalating for some time.

“All a bunch of beef, over nothing. It was over nothing, you know,” Renee Mabe said. “I’ll never hear his voice again I’ll never hold him. I’ll never hear him tell me 'mom I love you' anymore.”

Although she’ll never hear her son's voice again, and there will always be a void, Tristan’s friends and family celebrated him by burning out their tires in his memory.

His mother said racing Honda’s, riding dirt bikes and working on cars was his passions.

“As a mother, protect your children and hold them close because you never know when they’re going to be gone,” Renee Mabe said.

Rene Mabe’s family created a gofundme to pay for Tristen's funeral expenses.

Less than two miles away from the Bruce Street shooting that left Tristen dead, gun fire rang out on Devonshire Street, just five hours between the two shootings.

Around 10 p.m. Friday officers responded to the neighborhood while already on patrol nearby.  

They found four people shot, one died at the scene.

The others are currently in the hospital including a 17-year-old victim.

Police found two firearms and what looked to be bullet holes were visible outside a home in the area.

Neighbors didn’t want to speak on camera but said this is the first time something like this  has happened in their neighborhood.

Police have not determined if the two shootings are connected.

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