Here's a link to our petition for justice as the driver was given a plea deal and released!! We as grieving family and friends would like full justice for Mason so if u can please go read the petition, sign it, and share it we would be entirely grateful!!
Signed. I pray that it helps. I'm so sorry for what your family has gone through.
Mason Payne, 23, was fatally shot on August 24, 2024 in the Skybridge parking lot in Davenport, Iowa, after a verbal argument among a group of young men escalated. Witnesses and family say Mason was not part of the initial confrontation. As four of the group began leaving in a vehicle, shots were fired from that car and one struck Mason, killing him.
Davenport police arrested and charged two young men soon after—the driver and the shooter—initially with first-degree murder. A witness statement later included an allegation that the shooter had hesitated until the driver issued an ultimatum, Shoot or I will shoot you, a detail Mason’s family considers central to holding the driver accountable.
The prosecutor, Kelly Cunningham, later offered the driver a plea that replaced the murder charge with Solicitation to Commit, Accessory after the Fact, and Interference with Official Acts; the driver served 327 days in custody and was released while awaiting sentencing on the reduced counts. Mason’s family has launched a petition calling for greater accountability, arguing the driver’s alleged instigation made him as responsible as the shooter and noting concern about a social media photo of the driver posing with what appears to be a large rifle.
If anyone knew Mason or witnessed the Skybridge parking lot confrontation on August 24, can you share what you saw?
