Garron Lawrence John Edward McGlothlin, a 19-year-old man from Aurora, Missouri, was shot at White Park on the night of March 29, 2024. Officers were dispatched about 9:06 p.m. and found McGlothlin near the tennis courts with a gunshot wound; he was treated on scene then taken to a Springfield hospital with life-threatening injuries. Funeral-home records and later local reports list his death at Mercy Hospital in Springfield on March 30.

Investigators determined McGlothlin and the person who shot him knew one another and had a history of conflict. A crowd had gathered at the park because people expected a fight; the confrontation turned deadly when a firearm — described by police as a concealed stolen firearm — was introduced. Witnesses saw the suspected gunman run from the park, and law enforcement launched an overnight search using drones, police dogs and a perimeter.

The following morning officers located and arrested a juvenile suspect in a field near the Eagle Stop gas station at about 8 a.m., roughly 11 hours after the shooting. McGlothlin’s family held a memorial and candlelight vigil at White Park; relatives remembered him as devoted to his nieces and nephews and someone who made others laugh. Did anyone attend the vigil or have information about the events at the park that night?