Michael Ray Stinnett was 16 when he was fatally shot on the evening of May 5, 2023, on the Squires Bike Trail near Summerhill and Woodspring drives in Lexington, Kentucky. The Fayette County coroner pronounced him dead at the scene from a gunshot wound; two other 19-year-old men were also injured and taken to hospital.

According to court documents, the shooting followed an attempted robbery. A 19-year-old, Stewart Watson, allegedly approached Stinnett after seeing a handgun visible, placed his own gun on Stinnett’s chest in an effort to take the weapon, and then fired a shot that struck Stinnett in the chest. Stinnett returned fire, wounding Watson; police found Watson near a gun and unable to flee. Watson was arrested and charged with murder and first-degree robbery and was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center; the case went to a grand jury.

Stinnett was a Bryan Station High School student who had turned 16 four days before the shooting. Family described him as having a big heart and a clever sense of humor, and said he had been reconnecting with his father after the earlier death of his mother. Does anyone who was in the area that evening or knew Michael have information that could help the investigation?