On the night of January 16, 2015, 20-year-old Jamar Thomas of Hampton, Virginia, was shot in the parking lot of Kelly’s Tavern on Coliseum Drive. Police found Thomas and a juvenile victim; both were taken to Sentara Careplex Hospital and Thomas was pronounced dead on arrival. The juvenile survived with non-life-threatening injuries. A witness reported hearing three shots, a pause, then several more.

Known to friends and family as Mal, Thomas was born December 9, 1994, in Newport News. He was a recent father to a baby boy, Jamir, and had attended schools in Newport News and Hampton before earning his GED. He played youth football for the Doris Miller recreational league and basketball for AAU and Hampton High School junior varsity. He was the son of Likia Sweetenburg and James E. Thomas, Jr.

Hampton Police opened an investigation seeking suspects and a motive; no immediate arrests were made. The case remains unsolved and the department is asking anyone with information to come forward. Did anyone see or hear anything in the Kelly’s Tavern area that night?