Martinez Smith-Payne was 13 when he was shot and killed in St. Louis on November 29, 2015. Police found him unconscious and bleeding in a back alley at about 12:47 a.m.; he was taken to a hospital and later died. Reports say Martinez and two other juveniles were allegedly attempting to take items from an unlocked vehicle in the 5900 block of Riverview when a 60-year-old Black man confronted them and fired shots.

The man was detained at the scene but the St. Louis prosecutor’s office declined to bring charges, citing Missouri’s self-defense and property-protection laws and calling the incident a terrible tragedy. Martinez had suffered a serious fireworks injury at age 10 that resulted in the loss of four fingers and had been reported missing for several days in June of 2015 while off his medications for ADHD and bipolar disorder.

Does anyone who knew Martinez or was in that neighborhood that night have information that could clarify what happened?