Laquan Jernigan, a 20-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on October 13, 2021, in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. He was in a car on the 4800 block of West Crystal Street with Davion Fountain’s ex-partner and another person when someone opened fire during what has been described as a drug transaction; Jernigan was struck in the chest.

Prosecutors say 22-year-old Davion Fountain of Bellwood fired three shots from the passenger side window of his car while arguing with his ex-partner, missed that intended target, and hit Jernigan instead. Fountain initially denied being the shooter but later admitted to the shooting; surveillance footage and witness testimony, including identification of Fountain by his ex-partner in a photo array and gas-station video showing a matching jacket, were cited in the case. Fountain was arrested in Bellwood and charged with murder and held without bail; he had a pending 2020 gun case.

The killing was referenced in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Chicago’s rising gun violence. If anyone knew Laquan Jernigan, the people in the car that night, or observed activity on West Crystal Street on October 13, 2021, please come forward with information.