The chief of staff to former North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson is recovering after being in critical condition following a shooting right outside of a church at the conclusion of a New Year’s Eve service.
Krishana Polite is now in stable condition following the shooting incident that Winston-Salem police are still investigating. So far, there have been no arrests.
The former top aide to Robinson was shot in the neck at St. Peter’s Church & World Outreach Center just after midnight on New Year’s Day.
“I heard this popping … in the distance, and I was like, ‘Wow. They are really bringing in 2025,’” Polite recalled to Fox 8 about the moments before she was struck by a bullet. “I felt this warm sensation. It was like I was frozen. I didn’t know what had happened. All I know is I felt warmth from my toes coming all the way up my body.”
Suddenly, Polite’s body fell to the ground, and her mother came rushing to her aid. “She looked at me, and she said, ‘Krishana where are you hurt? Where are you hurt?’ I said, ‘My left shoulder.’ That bullet is still lodged in me right now,” said the former Republican staffer. More than two weeks later, Polite continues to recover and regain her strength and mobility.
Polite made history when she was named chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Robinson, becoming the first Black woman in the state’s history to hold the title. Robinson, the first Black lieutenant governor, has had a tenuous and controversial tenure in office. The Republican, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in November, made headlines throughout the years for various incendiary comments, including downplaying slavery and declaring, “Some folks need killing.”
Polite was named as Robinson’s chief of staff just weeks before the Nov. 5, 2024, election after many staffers from his official office and campaign resigned after a report indicated that he expressed interest in transgender pornography on a porn site, despite his known anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ policy record.
Despite her high-profile boss, Polite’s shooting is not believed to be connected to politics nor do officials believe she was being targeted.
“We’re still out trying to figure out what exactly happened that night. But as of right now, no evidence indicates that it is,” Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn Jr. told Fox 8.
In response to the shooting, St. Peter’s Church said, “A reckless and thoughtless act of discharging a firearm into the surrounding area during a celebratory moment resulted in an innocent person being injured in our parking lot.” The church statement concluded, “While it is believed that this act was not intended to cause harm, it serves as a sobering reminder of how dangerous such behavior can be.”
