On September 1, 2021, William Chavis Raynard Miller Jr., a 15-year-old African American male student, was fatally shot at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The incident occurred shortly after noon near the school cafeteria. Emergency responders transported William to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. The school immediately went into lockdown, and other students were secured in safe locations.
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 15-year-old Maurice Travon Evans Jr., also an African American male and student at Mount Tabor High School. Evans was apprehended without incident later that evening. Authorities indicated that the shooting was a targeted act stemming from a prolonged dispute between the two students.
Initially charged in juvenile court, Evans was later indicted for murder and tried as an adult in Forsyth County Superior Court. On March 20, 2025, he pled guilty to second-degree murder and received a prison sentence ranging from 22.5 to 28 years. The court acknowledged the time Evans had already served since his arrest in 2021. The sentencing aimed to balance justice for William's family with the legal considerations of trying a juvenile as an adult.
In remembrance of William, Mount Tabor High School held a moment of silence and planted a crepe myrtle tree in the Spartan Memory Garden on the first anniversary of his death. The tree serves as a lasting tribute to William's memory within the school community.
