Emoni Shears was a 14-year-old Black/African American boy from Wichita, Kansas, remembered by family as a family-oriented jokester and an angel who volunteered and helped others. His Sunday school teacher described him as a boy with limitless potential; his aunt said his kindness may have been taken advantage of the night he was killed.

On the night of January 26, 2024, Emoni was riding in an SUV driven by him with 19-year-old Jhiquez Roberts in the passenger seat. Court documents say another teen, 14-year-old Elias Cerda, had arranged to meet Emoni to trade guns but was secretly planning to rob him. Cerda got into the back seat and, as Emoni began driving away, shot both Emoni and Roberts. After Cerda fled, other teens with him also fired at the SUV. Despite severe injuries, Emoni and Roberts drove to a nearby hospital and were later pronounced dead.

Wichita police arrested five teenagers in the days after the shooting; Cerda was arrested the day after. In the days after Emoni’s death, family and friends held a balloon release and called for an end to violence. If anyone knew Emoni or has information about that night, please come forward.