Dakota Austin Smith was 15 when he was shot and killed on February 20, 2014, near his home on Martin Luther King Boulevard in east Bradenton, Florida. A freshman at Horizons Academy High School, Dakota had moved to Bradenton from Kansas City, Kansas in 2010 and was remembered by family and friends for his kind, caring nature and his poetry.

The shooting occurred a few blocks from his residence and prompted a candlelight vigil as the community mourned.

Dakota’s family continues to seek answers and the case remains unsolved. If anyone has information about what happened that evening or saw anything in the neighborhood around February 20, 2014, please come forward.