LaDainian Cathey was an 18-year-old high school senior killed in Memphis in the early morning hours of April 19, 2026, just hours after attending prom. He was shot outside a Whitehaven-area gas station or convenience store, with some reports naming a Hop-In location. Police found Cathey at about 1:40 a.m.; he was taken to a hospital and did not survive.

Investigators said two people fled the scene in a black Mercedes. Within days police arrested a 17-year-old and charged that teenager with first-degree murder and murder in the perpetration of a robbery; the juvenile’s name was not released. No trial or conviction information was available and details about the second person seen leaving were not publicly released.

Cathey was remembered by family and classmates as a senior looking forward to graduation and excited about prom. If anyone has information about what happened outside the Whitehaven business that night, please come forward.