Seventeen-year-old Cayden Sincere Jones was fatally shot on April 16, 2023, at a residence on Chestnut Street in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Emergency crews found Jones with a single gunshot wound to the head; he was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a Philadelphia facility where he was pronounced dead. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death homicide and the cause of death a gunshot wound.

An investigation led to the arrest of 18-year-old Nasir D. Robinson-Sanders, described by law enforcement as a friend of Jones. Police say the shooting occurred while the two teenagers were handling a .40 caliber handgun taken from Robinson-Sanders’s father’s truck. After removing the magazine and racking the slide, Robinson-Sanders reportedly believed the weapon was unloaded, pulled the trigger, and a round remaining in the chamber discharged, striking Jones. Robinson-Sanders was charged with first-degree manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon and lodged in the Salem County Correctional Facility; the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office continued its investigation.

Jones’s organs were donated and reportedly saved two lives. If anyone knew Cayden or has information about what happened that afternoon, please come forward.