Sixteen-year-old Janyia Wilson was fatally shot in Atmore, Alabama, on the night of February 20, 2023. A sophomore and volleyball player at Escambia County High School, she was sitting in a vehicle near the intersection of Carver and Ashley streets when the shooting occurred. Her 16-year-old boyfriend drove her to Atmore Community Hospital, where she was unresponsive and later pronounced dead.

Police were dispatched to the hospital at about 10 p.m. and took the suspect, also 16 and dating Wilson, into custody shortly after the incident. The Escambia County District Attorney charged the teen as an adult; he was held at the Escambia County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. Alabama confidentiality law prevents public release of the suspect’s name. Investigators said they were not searching for other suspects, and the motive remained under investigation. The community mourned Wilson as a loving student-athlete with a bright future.

If anyone has information about the shooting or knew Janyia, please share what you know.