On the evening of June 5, 2020, 18-year-old Donnovan Clayton was walking home in Troy’s North Central neighborhood when he was struck by a stray bullet at about 10:45 p.m. A patrol officer found him on the sidewalk near Sixth Avenue and Swift Street; first responders performed CPR and he was taken to Samaritan Hospital but could not be revived. Investigators concluded Donnovan was an innocent bystander and say the round was fired during a nearby shooting.

Clayton was a Troy High School student about to graduate and the primary caregiver for his ailing mother. Two weeks after his death his mother, Caroline Clayton, suffered a stroke and died; the family links her passing to the grief over Donnovan’s killing. The Troy Police released images of a gold 2004 Acura TL and a silver 2005 Audi A4 seen near the shooting and a reward fund topped $10,000, but the case has grown cold and no arrests or public identifications have been made.

Anyone who knew Donnovan or saw vehicles or activity near Sixth and Swift on June 5, 2020 is asked to come forward with information.