La’ren Dickens, 20, a Black woman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was shot and killed in the early hours of Sunday, July 13, 2025. Officers were called just before 3 a.m. to the 800 block of Virginia Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, where Dickens and 19-year-old Ryo Steele were found with gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Within days, Rocky Mount police charged three men in connection with the killings: Bernard Smith, 27, and Trevion Jayvon Scarboro, 20, were each charged with first-degree murder in Dickens’ death, while Devonte Gregory Dales, 22, was charged with first-degree murder in Steele’s death. A week and a half later, court records show a fourth suspect, 19-year-old Keyvonte Tyson, was also charged with murder and held without bond. Authorities have not released details about motive or how each person’s alleged role fit the events that morning.

The shooting was reported as one of multiple weekend shootings; memorial pages and local reports have kept Dickens’ death in public view as the investigation continued. Anyone who was at or near MLK Park on East Virginia Street around 3 a.m. on July 13, 2025, or who has information about what happened is asked to contact investigators.