Tyrea James was 20 when he was shot and killed in Kenner, Louisiana, on December 28. The killing came in the late days of December and left family and neighbors confronting sudden violence in their community.

Kenner police treated the case as a homicide and, after reviewing surveillance footage, using vehicle recognition technology and analyzing cell phone records, identified 21-year-old Keith A. Cotton of Metairie as a person of interest. Investigators say those tools placed Cotton at the scene around the time of the shooting and tied a 2015 black Nissan Altima, allegedly his, to a vehicle seen fleeing the area. Cotton was arrested on January 15 with the help of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and booked on first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and obstruction of justice; his prior aggravated second-degree battery conviction reportedly made firearm possession illegal for him.

The motive and the circumstances that brought James and Cotton together remain under investigation as the case moves through the courts. If anyone has information about Tyrea James, his movements that day, or the black Nissan Altima, please share what is known with investigators.