William Walter Allen III was 24 when he was shot on Wallace Road in east Charlotte on January 20, 2015, and later died at Carolinas Medical Center-Main. He was born July 19, 1990, in Mecklenburg County and was known to family and friends as Will. A graduate of David W. Butler High School, he attended the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and worked at Pizza Hut in Matthews. He is remembered as a devoted father to his daughter Talia and for his infectious smile and kind heart.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s homicide unit investigated the shooting and identified 17-year-old Jawan Tyquan Smith as a suspect; warrants were issued and Smith was taken into custody on March 26, 2015. Reports describe the death as the result of a violent altercation; motive and many circumstances remain unclear.

If anyone knew Will, his routines, or has information about the events on Wallace Road that day, please come forward.