Sixteen-year-old Mackenzie Bullard was found dead inside a Quincy residence on October 11, 2023, after emergency calls reported suspicious circumstances and a shooting in the early morning hours. Calls to the Quincy/Adams County 911 Center came from the 400 block of Gardner Park Drive and about the same time from the 400 block of Scenic Drive, including one at 4:15 a.m. Officers located Bullard deceased when they entered the home.

Investigators tied the death to an armed robbery. On November 17, Quincy police arrested 23-year-old Tristian L. Johnson and 20-year-old Fallon M. Gillum on warrants alleging conspiracy to commit armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, with additional counts of attempted armed robbery and attempted robbery. Prosecutors say Bullard’s death resulted from the defendants’ actions during the robbery, but changes to Illinois felony murder law now require that the person who actually causes a death be a direct participant in the felony, so first-degree murder charges were not brought against these defendants. Detectives continue to collect evidence and send items to the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, and more arrests are anticipated.

If anyone has information about the events of October 11, 2023, or the people involved, please come forward.