Kemon Dermarie Battle was 12 when he was shot on December 22, 2018, on Lexington Drive in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was playing outside, was struck in the head — the bullet entering the right cheek — and after surgery at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters he died the next day. The neighborhood and Kemon’s family were left reeling, and planned holiday traditions were shattered.

According to court testimony, Kemon and a 14-year-old friend had found a gun on a service road and brought it to the older boy’s home. The fatal discharge occurred while Kemon was handling the firearm; the 14-year-old testified he had been trying to take the gun away from Kemon, fearing Kemon would get in trouble with his mother, when it went off. The teenager was initially charged with voluntary manslaughter; the charge was amended to involuntary manslaughter and in April 2019 a juvenile court judge found him responsible.

If anyone knew Kemon, the boys involved, or the neighborhood circumstances that day, please share information that could shed light on what happened.