Rodderick Lakeem Sparks was 23 when he was shot and killed on December 21, 2020, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A business management student at the University of South Carolina Upstate who was about to graduate, Sparks was found shot through a back door of an apartment near campus and later died at a nearby medical center.

Investigators reported the shooting may have been connected to illegal narcotics. Within months authorities identified and arrested three men in connection with the killing. Tyshawn Issac Gray Jordan, then 19, was described as the primary suspect; he fled the state and was later arrested in Massachusetts and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and discharging a firearm into a dwelling. Marquese Dashaun Tart, 21, and Trajan Jasia Mack, 21, were arrested and charged with accessory after the fact. None of the three were students at the university.

Family and the campus community mourned Sparks and the university made counseling services available. Does anyone have information that could shed further light on what happened that night?