Qua’Lek Shelton was 15 when he was shot and killed on February 16, 2020, while walking on Catalpa Drive in Dayton, Ohio. A rising track star at Paul Laurence Dunbar Early College High School, he was remembered for his confidence and talk of Olympic ambitions. Another teenager was wounded in the same incident.

Authorities charged 19-year-old Jackeem Collins of Mason, Ohio, with murder, felonious assault, and weapons offenses. Prosecutors say Collins fired into a group of teenagers; Collins told police he fired into the air and did not intend to hurt anyone. Legal proceedings described multiple interrogations and an attempt by Collins’s defense to suppress his statements, but a judge ruled the detectives’ tactics were lawful. Collins later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years for involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in January 2022.

Shelton’s death left a deep mark on his school and community, where friends and family continue to honor his memory. If anyone knew Qua’Lek or has information about that night on Catalpa Drive, please share what you remember.