‘He was a good soul,’ woman remembers brother killed at Winston-Salem bar

By Maria DeBone

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    WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — One person is in custody after a deadly shooting happened Thursday morning at a popular bar in Winston-Salem.

Winston-Salem Police Department says 74-year-old William Drake fired shots into Burke Street Pub from the street. Two people were hit, including 30-year-old Kane Bowen.

Bowen’s sister Kathy said her brother just went to Burke Street Pub to have some fun with friends like he’s done many times before.

“Innocent night, never expected anything like this to happen, and we’re pretty devastated,” Kathy Bowen said.

WSPD does not believe this was a random act of violence and says the two people who were shot did not know the suspect. WSPD says the suspect had an ongoing dispute with someone else inside Burke Street Pub.

Just after 1 a.m. Thursday morning, WSPD say William Drake fired shots into the pub. Bowen was killed, and a woman was grazed by a bullet.

Drake was later arrested at a business on North Point Boulevard.

WSPD says Drake is currently in the Forsyth County Detention Center without bond. He’s charged with general murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and assault with a deadly weapon.

“Something like this is just a gut punch. Not just obviously for the people who were involved in it but also the bar owners,” Jeff MacIntosh, Winston-Salem City Councilman for the Northwest Ward said.

MacIntosh said bar owners downtown have worked together to try and keep situations to a minimum. “This is just heartbreaking,” MacIntosh said.

Burke Street Pub posted the following statement to their Facebook page.

Kathy Bowen said their family wants answers. “We want to know why him? I think that’s what every family asks for when this happens. But everybody just hug your siblings tight because tomorrow is never promised,” Kathy Bowen said.

Kathy Bowen said her brother was someone that had an infectious smile. “If you didn’t love Kane, you didn’t love people. He was a good soul, and he’s ultimately gone too soon.”

She asks that her and their family be kept in everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

WSPD said this is an ongoing investigation.

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