Fourteen-year-old Carter Jesse Black of Salina, Kansas, died after being shot inside a south Salina home during the first weekend of 2026. Carter was shot on January 2 and initially taken in critical condition to Salina Regional Health Center before being transferred to Wesley Children’s Hospital in Wichita. He died there on January 3, 2026. First responders found him with a single gunshot wound inside a private residence in the 100 block of Raleigh Street; police later clarified the shooting was not connected to the nearby Southwind Apartments.

A 15-year-old acquaintance was detained the night of the shooting and later identified in juvenile court as Collin Arroyo. Prosecutors charged Arroyo with reckless second-degree murder and criminal use of a weapon, along with counts for possession of marijuana, a hallucinogenic drug, and drug paraphernalia. Arroyo remained an accused juvenile and was ordered detained while discovery and pretrial proceedings continued; no completed trial or conviction has been reported.

Carter’s mother, Heidi Black, described the loss as preventable and said she hopes the shooting was accidental. The family remembered Carter as an energetic outdoorsman and athlete who enjoyed fishing, hunting, baseball, wrestling, dirt biking and playing guitar. After doctors determined Carter could not survive, his family authorized organ donation; his kidneys and liver were recovered and transplanted.

Does anyone have information about Carter’s last evening or about the events at the Raleigh Street residence that night?