Family Says NCCU Student Called Police Before Ex Killed Her

Family Says NCCU Student Called Police Multiple Times Before Her Ex Killed Her

London Powers’ mother told WRAL that her daughter had called the police on Damien Tinsley multiple times before her death.

The family of a North Carolina Central University student who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend on Monday says she was the victim of domestic abuse and had repeatedly called police before she was killed.

According to reports, on Monday, 21-year-old London Powers was shot by her ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Damien Tinsley, at the Camden Pointe apartments.

Police said Tinsley was pronounced dead on the scene, but Powers, who was taken to the hospital after the shooting, died Tuesday morning.

Powers’ friend Shiann Boyd told ABC11 that Powers was trying to move out of the apartment she shared with Tinsley when he showed up unexpectedly and began to argue with her.

From ABC11:

There was a brief argument, then Boyd said Tinsley got physical with London. She said when London tried to call 911, things took a deadly turn.

“She says her address. She says he has a gun. And that’s literally all she was able to say,” said Boyd.

Boyd said Damien shot Powers before turning the gun and firing a shot toward her. She was not hit, but she said that is when Tinsley made eye contact with her before taking his own life.

“I’m on the phone with the police, I’m screaming. I’m like, somebody please help me,” said Boyd.

Powers’ mother told WRAL that her daughter had called the police on Damien Tinsley multiple times before her death and that wasn’t the first time he had shot at her.

“When they get a call from a female saying that her life is in danger, they should show up and show out right away. Because maybe this could’ve been avoided,” Tia Powers said. “He shot at her previously a couple of weeks ago and it grazed her. She called them then, and she called them the time after that.”

London Powers was described by her friends and colleagues as a kind and generous person.

“She wasn’t the type of person to cause any trouble. She didn’t deserve it,” London’s co-worker, De’Andre Gainer, told WRAL.

North Carolina Central University also released a statement calling London “a vibrant, hard-working and supportive student who poured her heart into her social work cohort.”

From NCCU:

A native of Washington, D.C., London was a dedicated member of the University Honors program with aspirations to earn her Master of Social Work degree, focusing on adolescent and mental health.

She was actively engaged in campus life and had recently been elected event coordinator for the NCCU Social Work Society for the 2025-26 academic year.

She was also preparing to begin her internship at the Durham Center for Senior Life, a role that reflected her passion for serving others.

Could this tragedy have been avoided if the police had taken her calls more seriously?

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