On the evening of December 12, 2023, gunfire near Lower Onondaga Park in Syracuse left 15-year-old Karon Works with multiple gunshot wounds on the 100 block of Cheney Street. First responders provided aid and he was taken to Upstate University Hospital, where he later died. Works was a student at OnTECH Charter High School and remembered by a teacher as dedicated with a bright future and by friends as funny, caring, and a lover of dance.

Syracuse Police Department Homicide Unit detectives conducted interviews, canvassed the area, and executed search warrants. Investigators say evidence pointed to three teenage suspects who allegedly lured Works into a wooded area of the park and shot him with two 9mm pistols at close range. A 16-year-old male was charged with Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree on January 26, 2024; additional prosecutions are ongoing.

If anyone saw activity near Lower Onondaga Park that night or has information about Karon’s death, please share what is known with investigators.