In the early hours of April 12, 2021, 15-year-old Jaden M. Blackmon of Saint Paul was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest in south Minneapolis. The shooting occurred amid a chaotic sequence that began with a two-vehicle crash around 2 a.m. at South 14th Avenue and East 28th Street in the Phillips neighborhood. A 35-year-old man, Ahmed M. Badal, was also found fatally shot nearby; first responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

One account describes a prior armed robbery near Lake Street, during which suspects brandished firearms and demanded valuables from three people; one victim was shot in the leg. That narrative holds that an accomplice accidentally shot Jaden in the chest during the robbery, then the suspects’ vehicle collided with a Hyundai Sonata while fleeing.

Jaden’s mother, Romisha Jones, disputes parts of this timeline. She believes he was shot closer to 1 a.m., before the crash, and says she received a phone call indicating the teenagers with him were trying to transport him to a hospital when they collided with the other vehicle. Police have communicated with her and at one point told her a 14-year-old was in custody on an unrelated matter but could not be charged in Jaden’s killing. Does anyone have information about the timeline that night or the people involved?