Demarion D. Sanders was 15 when he was shot and killed in Roanoke, Virginia, on the evening of September 3, 2022. Police responded around 7:45 p.m. to reports of shots fired in the 1000 block of Palm Avenue NW and found Demarion outside a residence with a critical gunshot wound; Roanoke Fire-EMS efforts were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives later identified 23-year-old Demarco C. Jackson of Roanoke as a suspect and sought him on warrants for First Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. Jackson was located and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service in Houston, Texas, on September 24, 2022, and was returned to Roanoke in October after initially refusing extradition. The murder charges were later dismissed after a juvenile witness declined to testify under oath. Prosecutors subsequently dismissed separate drug and firearm charges against Jackson in August 2024 through nolle prosequi, preserving the option to refile.

Demarion’s mother, Latoya Sanders, accepted her son’s diploma at William Fleming High School’s graduation in a public remembrance. If anyone has information about the shooting or knew Demarion, please share what you know.