On the evening of March 24, 2024, 25-year-old Harry Mendoza was shot at the corner of East 128th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem. Police responded to a 911 call around 7:27 p.m. and found Mendoza and 18-year-old Ashley Ballard with gunshot wounds to the head. Both were taken to Harlem Hospital; Ballard was pronounced dead shortly after arrival and Mendoza died of his injuries just before 10 p.m.

Investigators initially cordoned off the block and used drones to search for evidence, and no motive or arrests were immediately announced. Months later, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicted nine members of a group called Fast Life, alleging Mendoza’s death was a planned retaliatory shooting against a rival group called LA World and that orders came from high-ranking members with a lower-level member carrying out the killings.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about Fast Life or LA World’s activities in the area, please share what is known.