Jermell Hayes was 17 when he was shot and killed in the early hours of May 15, 2016, in Newport News, Virginia. A Black male, he was found with multiple life-threatening gunshot wounds in the 300 block of Deputy Lane near a park and basketball court at about 1 a.m. Emergency responders took him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The shooting alarmed neighbors who said the park and court were often used by children. The Newport News Police Department investigated, but no suspects were publicly identified and no arrests were announced, leaving the case unsolved. Jermell’s mother, Anita Gonzalez, had moved the family to nearby Hampton and enrolled him in a private school hoping to keep him safe; she described him as a lover of sneakers and pressed authorities for answers, even writing to then-President Barack Obama.

Did anyone in the area know Jermell or see vehicles or people near the park that night?