Markas Vereen was 19 when he was shot and killed on July 4, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The shooting happened early morning on Wheatley Avenue; Vereen was in a vehicle that later crashed near the emergency department of Presbyterian Hospital. Emergency doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Family members described the killing as an execution and have pushed for answers. Friends and relatives held signs and marched to demand justice while the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department investigated. A friend, Ricco McHam, was later arrested, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received a sentence of a little over three years after admitting he shot Vereen in the back of the head and then drove him to the hospital; court filings described the shooting as occurring amid an ongoing feud.

Vereen’s mother remains devastated and has said the punishment felt insufficient. If anyone knew Markas, was with him that morning, or has information about what led to the shooting, please come forward.