On the morning of March 1, 2021, 15-year-old Daylon DaeDae Burnett, a Black male student, was found in a Watson Chapel Junior High School hallway near the library suffering from a gunshot wound. School nurses applied pressure to his head as his pulse grew faint. Two .380 shell casings were found on the floor nearby.

A student witness identified a fellow student, Thomas Quarles, as the shooter. Officers located Quarles near an air conditioning unit on the school grounds and took him into custody without a struggle. A black Ruger LCP handgun was reportedly found in his front pants pocket. Daylon Burnett was transported from the scene but later died from his injuries.

Quarles was taken to the Pine Bluff Police Department, read his Miranda rights in the presence of his mother, and requested an attorney. Did anyone in the community have contact with Daylon or know about tensions at the school that morning?