Javon Britten was 18 when he was shot and killed at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, Illinois, on January 21, 2019. The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. near the mall food court; Javon was shot multiple times and later died from those gunshot wounds. A cousin who was with him suffered only a graze wound.

Javon was a Rich Central High School senior who had been accepted to a trade school to study to become an electrician. Teachers and family described him as bright, ambitious and hardworking, with a talent for poetry. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Jakharr Williams, was involved in a fistfight with Javon before producing a gun and opening fire. Williams, on parole for a prior armed robbery conviction, was arrested two days later on weapons charges and later indicted on first-degree murder, attempted murder and multiple weapons and related counts; he has been held without bail.

The family and community mourned Javon’s potential and the senseless loss. If anyone was at Orland Square Mall that evening or has information about the confrontation, please come forward.