On the eve of Thanksgiving 2021, 17-year-old Peyton Blitstein was shot and killed after a dispute about careless driving in an Aurora, Colorado neighborhood. Blitstein, who had an interest in his Osage Nation heritage and had participated in the Young Marines, was with friends when the confrontation began on November 24. According to reports, former Greenwood Village police officer Adam Holen confronted the group; the argument escalated and both Holen and Blitstein drew handguns.

A neighbor’s doorbell camera recorded the sounds of shots. Blitstein was struck nine times and died after Holen attempted life-saving measures; Holen suffered a single gunshot wound to the hip and was released from the hospital the next morning. The firearm found near Blitstein was described as a ghost gun, a privately assembled weapon without a serial number.

The case resulted in an arrest and prosecution; readers who knew Peyton or have information about that night are asked to come forward.