On April 6, 2015, a birthday party on the 800 block of W. 25th Street in Newport News, Virginia, ended in gunfire that killed 13-year-old Jada Richardson and 17-year-old Domingo Santiago Davis Jr. Police arrived about 10:25 p.m. and found both teenagers dead of their injuries. Investigators described the shooting as likely gang-related and said detectives suspected it was retaliatory; witnesses at the scene were largely uncooperative.

Family members publicly appealed for help after the killings; Jada’s aunt, Shoten Howard, urged anyone with information to come forward. Subsequent federal charges named a violent street gang called the 36th Street Bang Squad; prosecutors said members opened fire on the crowd outside the house and linked a 9mm firearm to the casings recovered at the scene.