Five-year-old Kason Guyton was fatally shot on February 23, 2017, in Bakersfield, California, after an alleged confrontation at Valley Plaza Mall between rival gangs. Kason was riding in a car driven by Dayvon Vercher with his seven-year-old brother Bryan Guyton Jr. and Vercher’s girlfriend when their vehicle was struck in a car-to-car shooting at California Avenue and S Street. Kason died and his brother was wounded in the leg.

Investigators charged Jonathan Knight, identified as a member of the West Side Crips, as the shooter and accused his cousin Jeremy King of driving the vehicle from which the shots were fired. Prosecutors said the attack was planned as retaliation against the East Side Crips and built their case largely on King’s testimony after he accepted a plea deal in exchange for cooperating. Knight was convicted and later sentenced; King received a six-year term as part of his deal.

Kason’s death underscored the lethal consequences of gang violence in Bakersfield and left a young family bereaved. If anyone has information about that February 23, 2017 shooting or knew Kason or his family, please share what you know.