Suspect in fatal shooting of NCCU student had shot at her before, mother says
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- Durham police identified the shooting as a murder-suicide involving ex-partners.
- Suspect Damien Tinsley had an active arrest warrant and prior violent behavior.
- London Powers, an NCCU student, was remembered for resilience and community focus.
The suspect in a shooting that killed N.C. Central University student London Powers had an outstanding warrant for his arrest at the time of the incident, Durham police said Friday.
Powers was fatally shot Aug. 11. The suspect, 23-year-old Damien Tinsley, was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound. A preliminary investigation suggests the double shooting was a murder-suicide, police said.
Police said Monday the charges on Tinsley’s arrest warrant were for misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor domestic violence. Tinsley had fired a gun at London three weeks ago and the bullet had grazed the back of her thigh, London’s mother, Tia Powers, said.
When London went to Camden Pointe Apartments in Durham on Aug. 11, she was moving out and moving on from her relationship with Tinsley, Tia Powers said.
Tinsley had told London he was in Washington, Tia Powers said. But while London was getting her stuff, he showed up.
Shiann Boyd, Powers’ friend, told ABC11 she saw Tinsley shoot Powers and then himself after the two got into an argument. She said Powers had tried to call 911 when Tinsley got physical.
The pair had dated for eight months, Tia Powers said. London had offered to pay half of Tinsley’s bills after he recently lost his job, but she also told him she was leaving him.
Until Aug. 11, Powers had been staying at a friend’s place until she could move into her new apartment, Tia Powers said. Police told Tia they had a warrant for Tinsley’s arrest but could not find him.
Tia Powers created a GoFundMe to pay for London’s memorial services. It has raised over $4,000 so far, a third of its $12,000 goal.
“Only good things coming towards her”
Powers was the fourth of six children in her family. Yet she would egg all her siblings on about getting up and doing something — be it earning money or pushing toward their goals, her mother said.
“She knew how to one up us,” Tia Powers said. “We [would] see her going, pushing forward — like, if she can do it, we know we can do it.”
Her daughter’s drive pushed her to try to finish her degree at N.C. Central University ahead of schedule. Despite experiencing domestic violence, her mother said, London chose to stay in North Carolina rather than go home to Washington, D.C.
On Thursday evening, about two dozen people, including London’s siblings, gathered outside the Walgreens on Holloway Street where London worked to release balloons in her honor.
Her co-workers, who nicknamed her “Lolizzy,” reminisced about how she covered their shifts when they were gone and how she always said “good morning” in her “D.C. accent.”
De’Andre Gainer, a shift lead at Walgreens, said London always walked in with “a little smile on her face.” He remembered the laughs they shared together, even if she was a little corny.
“She had a plan, she had a goal, and she was in school moving into her own apartment,” Gainer said. “Only good things [were] coming towards her.”
London studied social work at NCCU because she came from a part of Washington with a lot of crime and poverty, so she wanted to give back to her community, Tia Powers said.
“Her lunch break, she called me. My lunch break, I called her,” she said. “Every day — it was motivation. Like, ‘yeah, my daughter can do it. I know I can too.’”
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Suspect in fatal shooting of NCCU student had shot at her before, mother says."
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