Jace Lee Scott was 19 when he was shot shortly after midnight on November 24, 2019, inside the Small Business Incubator Building on the Southern University at New Orleans campus. New Orleans police found him with a gunshot wound to the neck; he died after emergency treatment and the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office listed a gunshot wound as the preliminary cause of death. University officials said Scott was neither a student nor an employee of SUNO.

Police identified 20-year-old Andrew Gant as the person who fired the fatal shot. According to court records reported soon after the killing, Gant told investigators the two had been play fighting with firearms, that Scott pointed a gun at him twice, and that Gant fired when he became frightened. Others present reportedly said they believed the shooting was accidental. Gant was arrested on negligent homicide and obstruction-of-justice charges; bond was set at $12,500 and he was released under conditions including house arrest and an ankle monitor.

Music was central to Scott’s life; he had played mellophone with the Talladega College marching band and hoped to become a band director. Friends and family held memorials and continued pressing investigators for more answers. Does anyone who knew Jace or was at SUNO that night have information that could help clarify what happened?