Eighteen-year-old Bobby Lee Sims Jr. was fatally shot on the evening of June 17, 2023, while on a work break in the parking lot of the Burger King on West Columbia Avenue in Battle Creek, Michigan. A recent student at Battle Creek Central High School, Sims had worked at the restaurant for about six months and was reportedly planning to start a new job at Denso Manufacturing. He has been described as hardworking, loving, and someone with an infectious smile.

Police identified 20-year-old Jaquai Potter as a suspect, saying Potter confronted Sims in the parking lot before the shooting and that the two knew each other. Authorities arrested Potter shortly after the incident and recovered a discarded handgun during the search; that weapon was later identified as the firearm used and registered to Potter’s mother. Potter was arraigned in Calhoun County District Court on an open murder charge and is being held without bond.

The shooting was the third homicide in Battle Creek over that Father’s Day weekend and intensified community concerns about gun violence. If anyone knew Bobby or saw what happened that evening, please share information that could help the investigation.