What began as a Fb submit claiming “2 folks simply acquired killed” at NC A&T’s Best Homecoming On Earth despatched social media spiraling—earlier than the reality revealed a mixture of chaos, confusion, and actual gunfire simply blocks away.
It began with a brief, emotional Fb submit from a Rocky Mount native — the form of unfiltered, late-night replace that fuels each native feed.
“Glad I left Ghoee wen I did 2 folks simply acquired killed!!” the submit learn. Subsequently, capped with shocked-face emojis and two purple exclamation marks.
Inside hours, that message unfold like wildfire throughout North Carolina timelines. By the next afternoon, it had over 800 shares, 100 reactions, and practically 90 feedback. Alumni, college students, and weekend guests scrambled to verify what actually went down throughout NC A&T’s Best Homecoming On Earth (GHOE).
For anybody unfamiliar, GHOE is greater than only a homecoming — it’s the Tremendous Bowl of HBCU celebrations. Thus, drawing 50,000+ folks to Greensboro every October. From parades to parking-lot events, it’s a cultural pilgrimage that runs deep by way of the Carolinas. However as huge because the weekend will get, so do the rumors.
And this yr, one Fb submit grew to become the spark for a digital firestorm.
The Declare That Set It Off
The consumer behind the submit is thought for lighthearted native updates and on a regular basis observations. So, he wasn’t making an attempt to begin chaos. Nonetheless, he was reacting to what he heard whereas heading residence from GHOE. There have been studies that two folks had been shot and killed close to an afterparty.
“Glad I left once I did” wasn’t a lie — it was concern blended with aid, one thing hundreds of attendees may relate to.
However nearly immediately, the remark part turned the submit right into a digital battleground.
Some have been panicked. Others cracked jokes. Just a few tried to fact-check in actual time:
“Ain’t no one die clown, they was combating.”
“RIP, I’ll nonetheless be there subsequent yr tho.”
As regular, the web’s response blurred the road between mourning and memes.
The confusion got here from two overlapping incidents — one in Excessive Level, one in Greensboro — each linked to GHOE weekend events.
Someplace between these two occasions, the story twisted: two victims grew to become “two useless,” and a submit from one witness grew to become the definitive model for hundreds scrolling at 2 a.m.
Social Media Echo Chamber: When Concern Goes Viral
What occurred subsequent exhibits simply how briskly rumor turns into actuality on-line.
The submit — just a few strains lengthy — unfold by way of Rocky Mount and Greensboro Fb teams, native information remark sections, and even cross-platform reposts on X. Customers from throughout the state started quoting it as reality:
“GHOE wild this yr smh 2 folks gone.”
“Yearly one thing occurs, I’m performed going.”
It wasn’t till the subsequent day that official information studies painted a clearer image. The Excessive Level capturing was unrelated to GHOE’s campus occasions. The Greensboro altercation on Elm Avenue led to minor accidents, not fatalities.
Nonetheless, that clarification got here too late — the panic had already traveled.
The viral clip posted within the feedback confirmed a chaotic avenue scene: folks yelling, a scuffle breaking out close to a parked sedan, then sudden gunfire echoing off the buildings. Crowds scattered in each course. One man was hit within the leg.
Within the second, it regarded — and felt — like one thing a lot worse.
Contained in the Video: What Individuals Truly Noticed
The 7-second clip was discovered within the feedback of the Fb submit. It was filmed on South Elm Avenue, a nightlife hotspot blocks from downtown Greensboro — captures the heartbeat of post-game GHOE power. A whole lot of individuals crowded the sidewalks, music blaring, meals vans parked close by, and folks merely having fun with the evening.
Additionally among the many folks have been two law enforcement officials, who seemed to be writing somebody a ticket.
Because the police have been doing their job, girls may be heard laughing within the background. Inside seconds, the video involves an abrupt finish. There are folks speeding over to the police and filming. Then, one girl is heard shouting “Y’ALL GOT ME MESSED UP!” to which one individual started laughing.
Although nobody died in that altercation, the video’s rawness was sufficient to feed Fb’s worst instincts. Customers reposted it alongside captions like “This GHOE loopy” and “2 folks gone proper right here.”
When these posts hit the algorithm alongside the unique “Glad I left” standing, the story wrote itself.
Reality vs. Concern: The Actual Numbers Behind the Weekend
By the top of Saturday, Greensboro Police had logged a number of disturbances, however solely one confirmed fatality within the surrounding space — the Excessive Level case.
No shootings occurred on NC A&T’s campus, and the college confirmed all official GHOE occasions ended safely.
Nonetheless, notion issues. Between the true gunfire on Elm Avenue and social media amplifying worst-case situations, the rumor of “2 useless at GHOE” felt true sufficient to stay.
This wasn’t the primary time, both — GHOE 2022 noticed two fatalities in an off-campus capturing, and comparable chaos through the 2015 celebration pressured Greensboro to tighten bag checks and crowd management measures.
In 2025, even with these precautions, social media outpaced legislation enforcement — once more.
From Humor to Concern: How the Feedback Shifted
As the reality settled, the remark sections took a unique tone. Individuals joked much less and mirrored extra.
“That’s why I left at 9.”
“It’s all the time the identical factor, man. GHOE enjoyable till it ain’t.”
Nonetheless, there was satisfaction blended within the concern. Locals referred to as it “the tradition” — an occasion too huge, too historic, too cherished to stop. Even one commenter who wrote “RIP” ended with “I’ll nonetheless be there subsequent yr tho.”
That’s GHOE in a nutshell: a celebration of HBCU excellence that refuses to die, even when rumors — or gunfire — attempt to smash the vibe.
What This Says About Us: Viral Concern and Actual Penalties
The Błazēr submit didn’t intend hurt. But it surely confirmed, as soon as once more, how Fb capabilities as a digital police scanner, particularly within the South. When official data lags, customers change into their very own reporters, mixing fragments of fact right into a collective panic.
And for occasions like GHOE — the place tens of hundreds collect, drink, and occasion late into the evening — the road between a viral scare and an actual emergency blurs quick.
Greensboro officers have since reminded attendees to depend on verified sources for updates, however they know posts like this could’t be stopped — they are the group heartbeat, messy as they arrive.
Ultimately, the submit that mentioned “2 folks simply acquired killed” wasn’t correct — however it was trustworthy in emotion. It captured what everybody at GHOE 2025 was feeling: a mixture of pleasure, exhaustion, and concern that issues may go left at any second.
