A social gathering in the Peppertree Apartments on Graceland in Whitehaven, Memphis, turned deadly on the evening of October 30, 2019. Rafael Grace, 22, was shot once in the back of the head while playing video games with friends and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said a man approached from behind and fired without warning.

Witnesses identified 25-year-old Cortavious Johnson as the shooter. Johnson was already wanted in connection with a non-fatal shooting about a week earlier, and authorities mounted a manhunt after Grace’s death. About ten days later Johnson was located and taken into custody. In June 2020 a grand jury indicted Johnson on first-degree murder; the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office was assigned the prosecution.

If anyone who knew Rafael or was at the gathering has information about what happened that night, please come forward.