Demetrius Rashon Paskel, known to friends as Meechie, was 19 when he was shot in the head on July 27, 2016, in the 4000 block of West Van Buren Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but died the next day, July 28, 2016, days before his 20th birthday on August 2.

Paskel was from Forest Park and was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He is survived by his mother Demetria Bradley, stepmother Stella Brunt, two brothers, two stepsisters, and grandparents; two friends, Angel Jones and Terreon Johnson, were noted as special to him. He was affiliated with Zion Grove M.B. Church in Malden, Missouri, and his funeral was held August 9, 2016, at Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden, with burial at Macedonia Cemetery.

The shooting adds to Chicago’s toll of gun violence and cut short a young life with family ties in Illinois and Missouri. If anyone knew Demetrius, his movements that day, or has information about the shooting, please come forward.