Saikou Koma was a 21-year-old college student and deliveryman shot in the head on the evening of October 24, 2021, on Ryer Avenue near East 183rd Street in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and died two days later. Koma’s family, immigrants from Sierra Leone and Gambia, described him as quiet and intelligent.

Investigators concluded the shooting was a case of mistaken identity in what they believe was a gang-related incident; Koma had no known connection to the assailants. Three people were arrested and charged in connection with the killing: Steven Mendez, who was 17 at the time, Jayran Liranzo, and Samson Walston. An indictment against Mendez was at one point dismissed, a development that deeply affected the family.