David Martinez was 18 when he was found fatally shot along railroad tracks in the Highland Park neighborhood of Louisville on the afternoon of Saturday, May 11, 2024. He was reportedly expecting a child with his girlfriend and had recently taken a full-time construction job; family and friends remember him as funny, caring, and protective and say he was starting to turn his life around.

Suspicion focused on a 17-year-old friend known as Stack, a Guatemalan youth who had been living with David and his mother, Melissa Flores. After the shooting the teenager admitted he had been the last person to see David alive and said he heard the gunshots but did not return because he had an outstanding warrant. On May 14 Flores called police to report that Stack was in her house with a gun; officers pursued the teen, a struggle occurred, and he was shot and killed by police.

Ballistics testing later matched the gun the 17-year-old was holding to the weapon used in David Martinez’s killing. A 19-year-old, Julian Oyaro, was arrested on drug charges connected to the events but not for the homicide. The motive for David’s killing remains unclear.

If anyone knew David, Stack, or has information about what led to this shooting, please share what is known.