James TreVaughn Black II, known to family and friends as Tre, was a 22-year-old Columbia, South Carolina resident whose life centered on church, school, music and family. Born September 20, 2000, he was raised in the Emmanuel Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, played French horn and drums, and after graduation from Airport High School enrolled at Hocking College before returning home to work with his father in the family business.

In the early morning hours of November 3, 2022, around 12:30 a.m., Columbia police responded to reports of gunfire on the 1300 block of Sycamore Avenue. Tre was found mortally wounded and later identified by the Richland County Coroner as the victim of gunshot wounds; police described the incident as a homicide. Authorities later arrested 18-year-old Sharquis K. O’Neal and charged him with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and reports characterized the shooting as between people who knew one another rather than a random attack.

Tre’s family and community have memorialized him for his faith, musicianship and ambitions. Did anyone in the neighborhood or who knew Tre see or hear anything that night that could help clarify what happened?