On the night of May 28, 2023, an unauthorized graduation party outside Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta turned deadly after gunfire erupted. Sixteen-year-old Breasia Powell, a junior and standout on her school’s basketball and volleyball teams, was struck in the back and later died at a nearby hospital. Investigators say she was an innocent bystander caught in crossfire; a 16-year-old male was also wounded but survived. Police recovered 119 shell casings from at least 18 different firearms at the scene.

Breasia was remembered as a loving daughter, an outstanding student and a young person who hoped to become a coach and mentor. The investigation produced arrests: Jaquan Withers, 18, Willie Dennis, 19, and Tsenre Mosley, 19, were charged with murder, aggravated assault and firearm offenses; a fourth suspect accepted a plea for five years. The trial for the three defendants began in December 2025 but ended in a mistrial after the judge found late disclosure of new evidence had prejudiced the defense. What does anyone who knew Breasia or was at that gathering remember from that night?