They were warned, even threatened with prosecution, to step down. Sooner or later this was going to happen. One of these vigilante groups confronted a guy they set up and were shot for their troubles. They are fortunate their target was a lousy shot. They should be charged with assault, harassment, and disturbing the peace, to say the least. They created a scene that could have gotten people killed. Quitr frankly, I hope next time, they fuck with someone who lights them up with an AR-15 and does the world a favor.
Dads Against Predators group 'lured' man to Winston-Salem Target, police say
Police said the man who was "lured" to the Target on Hanes Mall Boulevard fired his gun inside the store, hitting one of the D.A.P. members in the leg.
Author: Terrence Jefferies (WFMY News 2), Megan Allman (WFMY News 2 Digital)
Published: 7:44 PM EDT July 3, 2022
Updated: 6:30 AM EDT July 4, 2022
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem police said an incident involving a group called Dads Against Predators - or D.A.P. - forced an evacuation at the Target on Hanes Mall Boulevard last Tuesday.
Detectives said three men with D.A.P., as they're known on social media, "lured" a 25-year-old man to Target through the social media app Meet Up.
Once the man was in the store, police said the dad group confronted him, wanting to know why he was there.
Police said one of the D.A.P. members was recording the interaction on his cell phone. Police said a fight broke out and the man who was "lured" there took out a handgun and fired a round which struck a D.A.P. member in the leg.
Investigators said the dad group took the man's gun from him and left the Target in a car with Ohio tags.
The man who'd been beaten by the group went to a Forsyth County hospital for his injuries.
Police didn't find the gun until the next morning. It was three miles from the Target store, on Sunderland Road.
Winston-Salem police were later alerted by Ohio law enforcement that one of the D.A.P. men showed up at a hospital in Ohio for injuries. Police said he was treated and released for minor injuries that same day.
Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson discussed the dangers of these "vigilante groups" and how they can hurt an investigation more than help.
"Not only do they not have the training and experience of a law enforcement officer, typically their methods of investigation and evidence do not meet the requirement for successful prosecution of these cases. In fact, sometimes their actions in initial investigations may harm a case more than it helps it," Chief Thompson said in a briefing last week - a day after the Target incident.
Thompson said citizens who try to take the law into their own hands aren't just putting themselves in danger, but the public as well.
"We are also extremely concerned for the safety of the members of the citizens' groups and the community in general because the tendency of these groups is to lure a potential suspect to a public place to confront them. These confrontations are likely to create disturbances and certainly have the potential for violence," she said.
Chief Thompson also explained how vigilante groups like D.A.P. operate.
"The groups create posts on various social media apps impersonating a juvenile and engages potential suspects in conversation. If the conversation becomes sexually explicit, the members then arrange to meet the suspect," she said.
Winston-Salem police said they are not actively looking for the three D.A.P. men involved in the incident. Police said their Gun Crime Reduction Unit is currently investigating what happened.
Last week, WFMY News 2's Jenna Kurzyna spoke with the man who'd been beaten inside the store. He did not want to go on camera, but his injuries were visible. The man had cuts on his face, swelling, and a black eye. He said he did not know the suspects.
Target released the following statement last week:
"On Tuesday evening, there was an altercation between three people inside our Hanes Mall store, during which a weapon was fired, though no one was struck. Our team immediately evacuated the store and the Winston-Salem Police Department quickly responded. The store has since reopened and we're assisting law enforcement with their investigation. At this time, we'll refer additional questions to police."
Investigators learn more about ‘Dads Against Predators’ members accused in incident at North Carolina Target
by: Madison Forsey
Posted: Jul 5, 2022 / 08:15 AM EDT
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — More details have emerged about a group that Winston-Salem police say is responsible for chaos last week at the Target store on Hanes Mall Boulevard.
Police said two men from Fremont, Ohio, and one man from Marion, North Carolina — all connected to an Ohio-based group known as “Dads Against Predators” — were at the center of the incident.
According to Winston-Salem police, Jay Carnicom, 28, Joshua Mundy, 29, and Jason Chipps went inside the store to confront a 25-year-old man they had lured there by making him think he was meeting someone underage.
The group started filming the man, who then slapped a phone out of one of the “D.A.P” member’s hands, police said. That led to a fight, and the man fired his gun, hitting Carnicom in the leg. The group then took the man’s gun and ran.
According to the assistant chief of the Fremont Police Department, Carnicom went to a local area hospital to seek treatment for the gunshot wound.
The assistant chief said he wasn’t surprised when he got word the group was involved in the situation, adding that he has dealt with them for years. He said they have been banned from various grocery stores in Ohio because their meet-ups often turn into physical violence.
The assistant chief acknowledged that the group has brought awareness to a problem but said his department can’t condone its tactics.
FOX8 reached out to Mundy to get his side of the story. In a message, he could not go into details but that his group has been cooperating with the investigation and maintains they did not do anything wrong.
In a post on Mundy’s Instagram, he said he is “heavily considering retiring and removing myself from the field.”
Fremont police said Mundy and Carnicom do not have any past charges related to D.A.P activities.
Winston-Salem police have not filed any charges against the people involved and say this is still an active and open investigation.
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