On November 14, 2020 in Waterloo, Iowa, 27-year-old Jada J. Young-Mills was shot inside a residence at 723 Dawson Street after deputies in the Edison Street and Grandview Avenue area reported hearing gunfire. She was taken to a hospital but died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Authorities arrested 36-year-old Lasondra Johnson of Waterloo and charged her with first-degree murder. Investigators say a dispute between Johnson and Young-Mills escalated into a physical altercation; Johnson then retrieved a handgun from her vehicle and fired the shot that struck Young-Mills. At trial Johnson asserted self-defense under Iowa’s stand your ground statute; a jury acquitted on the murder charge but convicted on assault causing serious injury and imposed a sentence of up to five years.

The conviction was later overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court, which found the jury instructions on self-defense confusing and remanded the case for a new trial. If anyone knew Jada or has information about the events that night, please share what you know.