The Winston-Salem Police Department

The program is called STARS, which stands for Students Taking Action & Reaching Success.

Police held a press conference after an officer was recently assaulted downtown trying to break up a fight.

The shooting took place more than two weeks ago but police didn’t provide details of the incident until late Thursday night.

Police say they're also seeing improvement in how residents are peacefully resolving issues and reporting disputes to police before they become violent.

Twenty-four-year-old Nayekamion Hairston was charged with felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury and a misdemeanor for trespassing and impeding a school bus. 

There were five gun-related homicides in Winston-Salem last week. And early Monday morning, there was a drive-by shooting into a house occupied by multiple children under the age of 10. 

The Winston-Salem Police Department is investigating a murder-suicide that took place early Tuesday morning. 

A former mentor at a Winston-Salem middle school was arrested and charged with felony sex offenses on Tuesday. He was part of a program that was terminated last year, following allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a student. 

Winston-Salem police asked for more community input during a press conference Wednesday to address a spate of recent violence.