this city had been a site of major civil rights actions in the 1960s. Sit-ins resulted in the desegregation of lunch counters. The CWP entitled their protest as the "Death to the Klan March"; the event was scheduled to start in a predominantly black housing project called Morningside Homes on the black side of town, and to proceed to the Greensboro City Hall. The CWP distributed flyers that called for radical, even violent opposition to the Klan. One flier said that the Klan "should be physically beaten and chased out of town. This is the only language they understand. Armed self-defense is the only defense." Communist organizers publicly challenged the Klan to attend the march. Rally Four local TV news camera teams arrived at Morningside Homes at the corner of Carver and Everitt streets to cover the protest march. Members of the CWP and other anti-Klan supporters gathered to rally the march, which was planned to proceed through the city to the Greensboro City Hall. As the marchers collected, a caravan of nine cars and a van filled with an estimated 40 KKK and American Nazi Party members drove back and forth in front of the housing project at around 11:20 AM. The two groups heckled each other, and some marchers beat the cars with picket sticks and kicks. The first shot came from the head of the KKK caravan, although it wasn't clear who fired the shot. Several witnesses reported that Klansman Mark Sherer fired first, into the air. A "thick blue smoke" was spotted after the first shot, consistent with the discharge from a black powder pistol Sherer owned. A second shot was fired into the air by Klansman Brent Fletcher, and shots three and four by Sherer, into the ground and a parked car. Some KKK and ANP members exited their vehicles and engaged in a physical confrontation with marchers. CWP member James Waller equipped himself with a shotgun from fellow marcher Tom Clark's truck during the confrontation. Klansman Roy Toney spotted him and struggled with Waller for control of the shotgun, which went off during the struggle. The first shots wounding and killing individuals were discharged soon after, primarily by caravan members. Several caravan members equipped themselves with long guns from the trunk of a Ford Fairlane and fired at the marchers, while the rest of the cars and their occupants fled. Marchers Bill Sampson, Allen