Seven-year-old Ariah Jackson, a Black girl, was shot and killed in a senseless act of violence on the afternoon of Friday, March 18, 2022, just moments after arriving home from school. The tragedy unfolded in the driveway of her family’s home in Pontiac, Michigan.
That afternoon, Ariah’s 30-year-old mother, Lashawn Jackson, had picked up her two daughters and two nieces from their school bus stop. While waiting, she noticed an orange Chevrolet Blazer with two men inside drive past. After the children, ages six, seven, and eleven, were in her car, she drove to her home on Paddock Street. As she pulled into the driveway, the same orange SUV approached, and a passenger leaned out and fired at least six shots into the family’s vehicle.
A bullet struck Ariah in the back of the head as she sat in the back seat. Her mother suffered a graze wound to her head, but the other three young girls in the car were physically unharmed.
Ariah’s father carried his daughter from the car into their home before deputies arrived. A patrol car rushed Ariah to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
Investigators with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office quickly determined the shooting was gang-related and that Ariah and her family were innocent victims with no connection to the perpetrators. The investigation led them to members of a street gang called "4-Block." Police arrested Justin Jayshon Rouser, 19, and identified him as the shooter. He was captured in Troy while wearing a ski mask and attempting to flee a residence. The alleged getaway driver, 17-year-old JaJuan Calvin McDonald, surrendered to police days later. A third man, 21-year-old Daejion Markese Bryant, was also arrested for lying to police during the investigation.
Rouser and McDonald were charged as adults with first-degree murder, four counts of assault with intent to murder, and five counts of felony firearm. In January 2026, separate juries found both men guilty on all charges.
