Oscar D. Mallett, a 36-year-old African American man from Champaign, Illinois, was shot multiple times in the chest and died after being taken to a local hospital following a late-night altercation on August 27, 2022. The shooting occurred about 3:30 a.m. in the parking lot of a strip mall in the 700 block of North Neil Street, where a crowd had gathered and an argument escalated into violence.

Champaign police arrested 32-year-old Neilmyer Anderson on an initial charge of murder soon after the incident. Prosecutors later secured a conviction for second-degree murder. During court proceedings Anderson testified he shot Mallett after a verbal dispute turned physical and he believed Mallett was reaching for a gun; the prosecution argued there was no immediate threat to Anderson’s life.

Anyone who witnessed the confrontation or has additional information about that night is asked to come forward.