Jaylin Kamari Evans, an 18-year-old Black male from Cairo, Georgia, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of August 1, 2023. Officers responded about 12:30 a.m. to a shooting at the intersection of 3rd Avenue SW and Lewis Street SW and found Evans with gunshot wounds; he was taken to a local hospital and later died. An autopsy was performed at the GBI Crime Lab.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the inquiry at the request of the Cairo Police Department; GBI agents and a crime scene specialist processed the scene and identified a suspect. Seventeen-year-old Jakavian Jamel Cotton, also of Cairo, was arrested and booked into the Grady County Jail and charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, with additional charges anticipated.

If anyone was at or near 3rd Avenue SW and Lewis Street SW around midnight on August 1, or has photos, video, or information about what happened, please share what is known with investigators.