On the evening of September 1, 2016, 19-year-old Javante Marquest Stockard was shot while sitting in the backseat of a car parked at Palacio Park on West Lake Mead Boulevard in Las Vegas. A dispute among occupants was about whether a handgun the driver held was loaded. The gun had no magazine but a single round remained in the chamber; when the driver pulled the trigger that round struck Javante in the chest. He was taken to University Medical Center and pronounced dead about half an hour after arrival; the Clark County coroner ruled the death a homicide.

Metropolitan Police Department detectives identified and interviewed a suspected shooter who fled the scene on foot; police described the shooting as accidental and at the time no arrests had been made while the Clark County District Attorney’s office reviewed the case with homicide detectives. Friends remembered Javante as joyful and goofy, someone who loved to make people laugh, sing, and play video games.

If anyone was at Palacio Park that night or has information about the moments before the shooting, please share what was seen or heard.