On the morning of January 25, 2023, Chester police found 18-year-old Mekhi Harrison unresponsive on the rear steps of a row house on the 1000 block of Baldwin Street. Paramedics determined he had a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was Black / African American and known to friends as Twin.

An autopsy found a single .40-caliber bullet passed through his right arm into his chest, transecting his aorta. Detectives recovered two matching cartridge casings in grass behind a fence and believe he was shot while trying to climb over it. Examination of his phone showed he had been texting and using FaceTime in the early morning hours to arrange a meeting with a teenage girl.

Investigators say the killing was not random; two local teens were arrested. Authorities allege 15-year-old Alejandra V Pahola Barrios-Ortiz lured Mekhi with text messages while 17-year-old Ahshir Shir Javone Lloyd waited nearby to shoot him. The alleged motive was a social media post that roasted couples and included a picture of Barrios-Ortiz and Lloyd. Both were charged as adults with criminal homicide, conspiracy, and related firearms offenses.

Did anyone in Chester recognize Mekhi or have information about his movements that night?