On the evening of November 18, 2023, 20-year-old Kealan Tre Hardeman was shot on the 1400 block of Brentwood Avenue in Macon, Georgia. A ShotSpotter alert brought Bibb County sheriff’s deputies to the scene just after 6 p.m.; Hardeman was found with a gunshot wound, rushed to Atrium Health Navicent and pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m.

Kealan, known to friends and family as King Kealan and Golden Boy, graduated from Central High School in 2021 where he starred in football. He went on to Valdosta State University to study Sports Medicine and play for the VSU football team, and had launched a clothing line called BreakDaBank. Family and friends remember him as respectful, hardworking and goal‑oriented.

Authorities later identified 22-year-old Quintavious Johnson in connection with the investigation; in January 2024 he was taken into custody and charged with Hardeman’s murder and with six counts of pointing a firearm at another person and is being held without bond. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate.

If anyone knew Kealan or has information about what happened that night, please share what you know.