On the night of March 15, 2017, Bryonne Tyrell Maldonado, 21, was shot dead during what investigators described as a break-in at an apartment complex in Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth police were called to the Creek Hollow Apartments near Finbro Drive and McCart Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. after the front door had been kicked in and gunfire was reported. Bryonne was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the chest. A second victim, Jai Butler, was taken to a hospital and later died that night from a gunshot wound to the head.

Early reports noted few confirmed details and no suspects had been publicly identified; the available coverage did not describe arrests, charges, or court proceedings related to Bryonne’s death. Family and friends remembered him as someone who touched everyone he met and who was surrounded by a village of family and father figures. Who kicked in that door, and why?