James Anthony Smith was 17 and a junior at Ballou High School when he was shot and killed over a pair of cherry-red Air Jordan 11s he had received as an early Christmas present. The killing took place on the evening of December 18, 2017, near a playground at the Frederick Douglass Community Center in Southeast Washington, D.C. A 15-year-old reportedly demanded Smith’s shoes; when Smith tried to run, he was pursued and shot multiple times. First responders found him unconscious and unresponsive; his sneakers were missing and he died after being taken to a hospital.

D.C. Police arrested a 16-year-old from Southeast D.C. and charged him with felony murder in March 2018. Three of Smith’s friends testified they saw the defendant fighting with Smith and heard the gunshots; they later saw the stolen sneakers in the defendant’s possession before the group fled. In August 2018 a D.C. Superior Court judge in a juvenile proceeding found the 16-year-old guilty of second-degree murder, robbery, and related offenses.

Did anyone who knew James or who was near the Frederick Douglass Community Center that night see or hear anything that could add detail to what happened?