On the afternoon of October 21, 2022, 19-year-old Alijah Nelson was shot and killed in Athens, Georgia, during a gunfight tied to a gang dispute. The confrontation occurred in the area between a Citgo on Gaines School Road and a nearby Goodwill. Nelson and 27-year-old Jeffery Rice had driven into the gas station lot; both were members of the Red Tape Gang, linked in the report to the national Bloods. After spotting a rival, Rice stopped the vehicle and both men exited armed. Nelson opened fire, wounding the rival in the abdomen, and the rival returned fire, fatally striking Nelson. An 18-year-old, Deneritus Marquies Wilson, was also wounded in the incident.

Investigators quickly focused on gang involvement. About a week later Rice was arrested in connection with Nelson’s death; the rival who fired the fatal shot was not charged after authorities deemed the shooting an act of self-defense. Who in the Athens community might have information about the events that evening or about Red Tape’s activity in the area?