On October 2, 2021, 18-year-old Jason Whetstone was shot at a party on East Maple Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jason had been at the gathering with his girlfriend when an altercation began; a 24-year-old Western Michigan University student, Maliek Hargrave, reportedly behaved aggressively toward Jason’s girlfriend and questioned Jason about a possible rival gang affiliation. The confrontation escalated and Hargrave fatally shot Jason. Jason was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Following the shooting, Maliek Hargrave was arrested without incident and charged with open murder and a felony weapons charge. Jason’s family remembered him as kind-hearted and dedicated; he had earned his high school diploma at 16 and was working at Pfizer. On what would have been his 19th birthday, loved ones held a balloon release in his memory.

If anyone witnessed the shooting or knew Jason’s movements that night, please share what you know.