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Updated: Saturday, May 9, 2026
GREENSBORO, N.C. — One man was killed and four other people were injured in a shooting outside a West Market Street bar, and the violence has pushed Greensboro’s 2026 homicide count to 20.
Police were called to The O shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday after receiving reports that several people had been shot. Officers found Marvin Allen Watlington, 38, of Greensboro, wounded near the bar. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:11 a.m. Two of the wounded were transported to hospitals by Guilford County EMS, while two others made their own way to emergency rooms. Their conditions have not been released.
Greensboro Police Chief Kamran Afzal said the investigation pointed to a disturbance in front of the business before shots were fired. “Detectives learned that there was a disturbance that occurred in front of the establishment that led to the multiple shots being fired,” Afzal said.
The gunfire also damaged the storefront of a neighboring business in Price Place Plaza. Police have not detailed the extent of that damage, but detectives were seen interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence around the shopping center.
Mohammed Ibrahim said he had just left a nearby hookah lounge when the sound of gunfire sent people running. “Inside the hookah bar, people were just running around, glass shattered all over the place,” Ibrahim said. He said a friend was cut while trying to escape, but the injury did not appear to be life-threatening.
Ibrahim described what he viewed as a broader security problem in the area, saying customers should not have to worry about being caught in the middle of someone else’s dispute.
Huthaifa Aladwan, who owns a business next to The O, said no storefront in the plaza is truly safe when a confrontation in front of one bar can quickly turn violent.
“As a business owner, things may happen and escalate any minute,” Aladwan said. “We need probably more security from the city. We need more police officers running around, patrolling.”
Aladwan’s comments reflect a growing unease among people who work in and regularly visit the plaza. Police had already reported another incident at The O in April, and Sunday’s shooting made the calls for a visible police presence harder to ignore.
For Ibrahim, the repeated violence has changed how he views going out in Greensboro. “We used to go out. We used to have fun,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on in North Carolina, or specifically Greensboro. Every weekend, if it’s not every weekend, it’s every other week, you will hear somebody got shot. We never heard this before.”
No suspect information has been released, and police have not said whether the shooter was part of the initial disturbance or arrived as it escalated. Detectives were seen pulling surveillance video from businesses throughout the plaza, and the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agency is conducting its own investigation.
Watlington’s death is being investigated as the 20th homicide of 2026, according to police. The number puts added pressure on the department, which is still asking witnesses to come forward.
As of Saturday, May 9, no arrests had been announced. Police have not said whether patrols near West Market Street will be increased, and city officials have not publicly responded to the business owners’ request for additional security.
Detectives are asking anyone with information — including cellphone video or video from nearby cars and storefronts — to contact the Greensboro Police Department. Footage from the moments after the disturbance began, just before the first shots were fired, is considered particularly important.
The shooting fits a familiar pattern in which violence spills from the front of an alcohol-serving business onto nearby sidewalks and storefronts. Even when a fight starts between two people, the danger is not limited to them. By the time the first round is fired, innocent bystanders and neighboring property are already caught up in the scene.
That is why the response to this case, according to people who work in Price Place Plaza, needs to go beyond solving the homicide. They want long-term safety measures that will stop the next dispute from turning into deadly gunfire.
The investigation remains active, and additional charges may follow as detectives review evidence and compile witness statements. Police have not yet determined whether the shooting was a random act or directly connected to the earlier disturbance outside the bar.
Anyone with tips is urged to call Greensboro police or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers. Authorities say even a small detail about a vehicle, a person, or the events leading up to the shooting could help close the case.
