Michael Hayes

Mass Murderer

Michael Charles Hayes and the 1988 Old Salisbury Road Shooting

Background

Michael Charles Hayes was born on January 13, 1964, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was 24 years old when he carried out a deadly roadside shooting spree on July 17, 1988. The attack occurred along Old Salisbury Road in southern Forsyth County, close to the Davidson County line. Hayes had reportedly begun using drugs when he was approximately 13 years old. As he grew older, he moved between jobs and displayed increasingly unstable behavior. By 1988, he was working at Edwards' Moped Shop, a business operated by his family on Old Salisbury Road. Reports indicated that Hayes had taken money from the business and had become distressed after his parents threatened to sell it and withdraw their financial support. In the weeks preceding the shooting, relatives and other people who encountered Hayes became concerned about his mental condition. He reportedly made bizarre statements, behaved suspiciously and appeared to be losing contact with reality. Despite these warning signs, he remained outside a secure psychiatric facility on the night of the attack.

The Shooting on Old Salisbury Road

At approximately 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, 1988, Hayes armed himself with a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle and walked into Old Salisbury Road near the moped shop. The road was dark, and the people approaching the area had little warning that an armed man was standing near or within the roadway. Hayes began stopping or approaching passing vehicles and firing at their occupants. His victims were motorists and passengers who happened to travel along the road during the attack. They had no known personal dispute with Hayes and were apparently selected at random. The first emergency calls were sent to different dispatch centers because the shooting occurred near the boundary separating Forsyth and Davidson counties. The location created confusion concerning which law enforcement agency had jurisdiction. As officers and deputies responded, additional vehicles continued to approach the scene. Hayes fired repeatedly at drivers and passengers from close range. Some victims were shot after slowing their vehicles or stopping because they believed a person in the roadway needed assistance. Others were attacked while attempting to pass through the area or escape from the gunfire. The shooting continued for approximately 30 minutes. By the time law enforcement officers stopped Hayes, he had shot nine people. Four victims were killed and five survived with injuries.

Fatal Victims

• Crystal Susan Cantrell, 16 Cantrell was shot and killed on July 17, 1988, along Old Salisbury Road near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was one of the first motorists or passengers attacked during the shooting spree.
• Thomas Walter Nicholson, 24 Nicholson, a Winston-Salem resident, was shot and killed on July 17, 1988, on Old Salisbury Road. Contemporary reports identified him as one of the victims who had already been fatally wounded before deputies confronted Hayes.
• Melinda Yvonne Hayes, 21 Melinda Hayes, a resident of Lexington, North Carolina, was killed on July 17, 1988, near the family moped shop on Old Salisbury Road. Despite sharing the same surname, she was not related to Michael Hayes.
• Ronald Lee Hull, 32 Hull, also known as Ronnie Hull, was a Winston-Salem resident. He was shot inside his family's Chevrolet Blazer on July 17, 1988. A nine-year-old boy was reportedly in the back seat as Hayes aimed toward the vehicle. Hull was the final person killed before deputies brought the attack to an end.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Crystal Susan Cantrell 16 yr old Female

Old Salisbury Road shooting - Wikipedia