In the early morning hours of April 3, 2025, 19-year-old Xavier Tyler Stephens was found near the intersection of Shackleford Road and Steve Reynolds Boulevard in Duluth, Georgia, suffering at least one gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital and died of his injuries; an autopsy later found he had been shot 14 times. The Gwinnett County Police Department’s Homicide Unit and Crime Scene Investigators opened the case.

Investigators say the shooting grew out of a dispute over money. Police arrested and charged 27-year-old Stevens Estime, 26-year-old Malachi Stevenson, and 27-year-old Hernandez Jean Charles with malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. Cell phone data reportedly placed the three at the scene, a TikTok video reportedly showed Estime with the alleged murder weapon inside a vehicle, and ballistics testing tied that weapon to shell casings recovered at the scene. Witnesses described an ambush outside an apartment on Shackleford Road and later said the suspects gathered at a DeKalb County house celebrating.

Friends and family remember Stephens as a proud father who loved football and cars and had a vibrant, fearless personality. If anyone knew Xavier, saw activity near Shackleford Road on April 3, 2025, or has information about this killing, please come forward.