Lavonte D. Baymon-Love was 18 and from Saint Paul when he was shot and killed on August 29, 2021, around 8:40 p.m. The shooting happened near East Seventh Street and Mounds Boulevard as Lavonte was driving a Jeep with several juveniles. Witnesses said the Jeep had pulled up beside another car at a red light near a Burger King, where a confrontation escalated and Lavonte was shot in the neck and head.

Police charged 37-year-old Dennis John Edmondson with three counts of second-degree murder and one count of illegal firearms possession. Edmondson, who was on supervised release at the time, was reported to have been annoyed by the Jeep of juveniles; his girlfriend, who was driving their car, said Edmondson fired first because they believed the people in the Jeep were going to shoot at them. A witness identified as DK said Edmondson had been verbally aggressive and threatened to shoot someone earlier at an M&H gas station on Arcade Street, then followed Edmondson’s car and saw the shooting at the Jeep.

Lavonte’s death prompted a vigil attended by family and community members calling for an end to the violence. Does anyone have information about that night or knew Lavonte and can help fill in what happened?