JaZaria Hempstead was 17 when she was shot while riding in a vehicle on Route 146 in East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, on April 30, 2023. The shooting happened around 11:26 a.m.; two juvenile occupants in the vehicle were struck and taken to a hospital. JaZaria, an African American female from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, died of her wounds on May 2, 2023. The other victim, a male minor, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was released from care.

On May 2, 2023, 20-year-old Tyrese L. Tucker of Ullin, Illinois, was arrested in connection with the shooting and charged with first-degree murder; he was being held at the Massac County Jail in Metropolis, Illinois, with bond set at $2.5 million. The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation and the Alexander County Sheriff’s Department are continuing their investigation.

If anyone has information about the shooting or the vehicle’s movements that morning, please share what you know.