Xaevion Thornton was 15 when he was shot and killed on November 29, 2021, in the Glen Reilly Village Center parking lot on Glenn Reilly Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was a student at Westover High School and was struck in the chest around 8 p.m. while walking with friends to a nearby store. Officers found him at the scene and he was pronounced dead there.

Police said the shooting did not appear random. Within hours another person arrived at Cape Fear Valley Hospital with gunshot wounds and reported being shot in the same parking lot; authorities are investigating whether the victims knew one another. Xaevion’s mother, Angela Canada, described him as joyful and funny, and his sister, Ta Liah Thornton, said he was her best friend. A small memorial of flowers and a teddy bear was left at the site.

The Fayetteville Police Department is actively investigating and has asked anyone with information to contact Detective J. Arnold or Crime Stoppers. If anyone knew Xaevion or saw activity in the Glen Reilly Village Center parking lot that evening, please come forward.