A Memorial Day weekend cookout at Carter Jones Park in Richmond, Virginia, turned tragic on May 26, 2019, when gunfire erupted among hundreds gathered for the holiday. Nine-year-old Markiya Simone Dickson, born March 2, 2010, was struck by a stray bullet while attending the event with her family. She was taken to a hospital by her father, Mark Whitfield, but succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. An 11-year-old boy was also hit by stray gunfire.

Markiya was a Crestwood Elementary School student who loved unicorns and making YouTube videos. Her parents, Ciara Dickson and Mark Whitfield, and her siblings were left grieving. By late 2019, three people had been arrested in connection with the shooting: Jermaine Davis, 21, and Quinshawn Betts, 18, were arrested in October and charged with murder, two counts of malicious wounding, and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony; Jesus Turner, 20, was arrested in December and faced the same charges.

If anyone at Carter Jones Park that day can add details about what they saw or heard, please come forward to help the investigation.