On the evening of January 2, 2026, 18-year-old Taeyon Malachi Prather was shot and killed in a parking lot in the 23600 block of Rolling Fork Way in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Prather, a recent high school graduate who worked two jobs, had arranged to meet someone there to sell a jacket. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue found him with an apparent gunshot wound at about 7:21 p.m.; he was pronounced dead at the scene and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Investigators determined that Prather was shot during the transaction and that the jacket and other personal items were stolen. Police initially had no suspects and asked the public for help. A tip to Crime Solvers on January 5 led detectives to a 16-year-old, and further investigation implicated a second person. Arrest warrants were issued January 11.

On January 12 police arrested 16-year-old Wisdom Da-Silva Baptista of Gaithersburg and 20-year-old Kevin Jesus Perez Fierro of Montgomery Village. Both face first-degree murder and armed robbery charges; the 16-year-old is being charged as an adult and both were held pending bond hearings.

If anyone has information about Prather, the meeting that evening, or the theft of his belongings, please share what is known.