Joel Nichols was 14 when he was shot on the evening of April 19, 2021, at about 7:35 p.m. at the corner of Washington Avenue and LaSalle Street in New Orleans. Officers found him with a gunshot wound and he was taken to a nearby hospital; he died of his injuries the next day.

The New Orleans Police Department investigated the killing. On May 12, officers on proactive patrol stopped a vehicle on Jackson Avenue and Rev. John Raphael Jr. Way and identified a 15-year-old male as a suspect in the shooting. The juvenile was booked into the Juvenile Justice Center and charged with second-degree murder, armed robbery with a firearm, illegal use of a firearm, and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle; he also had an active arrest warrant in the Seventh District. The investigation was ongoing and authorities asked the public for information.

If anyone knew Joel or has information about what happened that night, please come forward.