Deshawnteris Lyrell Terrell Edwards was a 12-year-old boy from Peoria, Illinois, who died from a single gunshot wound at his mother’s home on July 21, 2021. He was pronounced dead at 5:44 a.m. at OSF St. Francis Medical Center. Born November 12, 2008, he was a 7th-grade student at Trewyn Middle School and enjoyed video games, breakfast foods, vampire TV shows, football, basketball, and Goosebumps books.

Reports state the shooting occurred when a 15-year-old in the house was handling a firearm that accidentally discharged and struck Deshawnteris. The Peoria County State’s Attorney charged that teen in juvenile court with reckless conduct and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor. Deshawnteris’s mother, Karon Schuch, was charged with obstructing justice and endangering the life and health of a child. His godparents and former foster parents, Tori and Jerome Ware, remembered him as happy and talkative and said he would not have been playing with guns.

What can readers who knew Deshawnteris or were in the neighborhood share about him or that night?