John Carlisle Kelly was 18 and a senior at A.C. Flora High School when he was found dead from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle on Frasier Street in Columbia on the evening of Thursday, May 27, 2021. He was a member of the International Baccalaureate program and participated in cross country and soccer, with plans to study electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina after graduation.

Authorities say a call about a suspicious vehicle led to the discovery. The car had multiple bullet holes in the driver’s side door; the Richland County Coroner confirmed Kelly’s identity and ruled the death a homicide. Investigators identified two 17-year-olds, D’mari Flannigan and Javienn Coates, who were arrested in the days after the shooting and were to be charged as adults. Officials reported all three teens had been involved in illegal activity when they met that day, that both Flannigan and Coates shot Kelly, and that the suspects moved his body and drove the car to where it was found; one suspect’s cell phone was reportedly found in the vehicle.

Anyone who knew Carlisle, saw the car on Frasier Street that evening, or has information about the meeting that preceded the shooting is asked to come forward.