Ja’Drean Mondrell Dykes was 20 when he was shot and killed in Sylacauga, Alabama, on the evening of Friday, July 29, 2022. Around 8:30 p.m., gunfire was reported in the Drew Court Housing Community. Officers were waved down near North Main Avenue and Sherwood Drive and found Dykes suffering multiple gunshot wounds; the Talladega County Coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators collected evidence, spoke with family and witnesses, and sent Dykes’s body to the Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy. The Sylacauga Police Department called on the public for help; Central Alabama CrimeStoppers offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to identification and arrest of those responsible. There have been no public announcements of arrests or identified suspects in this ongoing investigation.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or knew Ja’Drean, please come forward to the Sylacauga Police Department or submit an anonymous tip to CrimeStoppers.