Tylyike Akiel Pigford, 24, was shot and killed on July 26, 2020, in the driveway of his grandparents’ home on Academy Street in Wilson, North Carolina. The shooting happened during a small birthday celebration for his grandfather while Pigford, a Fike High School and Fayetteville State University graduate who was living with his grandparents, stood in the driveway. Surveillance footage shows Pigford walking past a home security camera with a visible firearm he was licensed to carry; the shooting itself was not captured, but the video shows a flash and Pigford’s body falling six seconds later. Officers found Pigford’s gun had been removed from the scene and it was later recovered during an unrelated traffic stop.

Three men were charged in connection with the killing: Horace Williams, 34, Treshaun R. Jones, 27, and Larrus D. Jones, 32, all charged with first-degree murder. Williams later pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and received 17–30 months in prison with credit for time served; his attorney said Pigford produced a gun and pointed it at Williams. Pigford’s mother, Dawn Cox, expressed disbelief and frustration at the plea and the sentence, saying her son didn’t know the three men and had not invited them to the party. Does anyone have information about that night or recall seeing unfamiliar people near Academy Street on July 26, 2020?