Seven-year-old Tashawn Gallon was killed on February 18, 2018, in the Durkeeville neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, when a drive-by shooting struck the area where he was playing outside his family home. An SUV stopped near the house and shots were fired from the vehicle. Tashawn’s uncle, Henry Smith Jr., who was present, returned fire with a .40-caliber handgun. A bullet from Smith’s handgun struck Tashawn and caused his death.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigated and recovered shell casings from three different firearms. A fragment recovered from Tashawn’s body during autopsy matched Smith’s handgun. Investigators identified a man named Silas Ervin as a potential suspect; Ervin admitted being in the SUV but denied firing a weapon, provided DNA, and surrendered his cellphone for inspection. Ervin was not charged and was later killed in a separate double murder six weeks after Tashawn’s death.

Officials described the death as accidental and classified it as a justifiable homicide, concluding Smith’s return fire was in response to the initial attack from the SUV. Does anyone have information about the shooting or knew Tashawn and his family?